Cryptocurrency analyst, Saxo Bank
This week the entire crypto market capitalisation increased by 23% on the back of a Bitcoin rally. The number one asset by market cap, BTC, increased 18% over the week. Investors cited a short squeeze, reduced selling pressure from tax liabilities and Bitcoin being deemed Sharia law compliant as key drivers behind the rally. Additionally, Ethereum saw an increase of 24% over the same period against the USD.
Major exchange pulls out of Japan
One of the longest operating cryptocurrency exchanges, Kraken, which usually is ranked as the 10th-13th largest exchange by volume, announced that it will be closing down its Japan operations. Kraken cited rising costs and a desire to focus on other geographical regions as reasons for the decision. The BTC/JPY pair represented less than 0.1% of the exchange's total volume and even less of the global BTC/JPY trading pair, which accounts for over 50% of BTC trading by currency. This illustrates further consolidation of the Japanese market and highlights the difficulties in operating a successful exchange in Japan.
ICOs to have record-setting funding
In our Q2 outlook we highlight the fact that numerous ICOs have closed since last year, however ICOs year-to-date have raised $3.5 billion. If we include Telegram’s and the EOS ICOs the amount of funding jumps to $6.8bn. This year’s funding has already matched last year’s numbers. However, Autonomous NEXT postulates that the funding in 2018 is different from last year’s funding as investors are not seeking to diversify their gains from a bull market, but are investing under the fear of missing out on the next best thing.
Blockchain hires Wall Street executive
Wallet and blockchain information provider Blockchain, with over 24 million wallets, announced its recent hire of Breanne Madigan as head of institutional sales and strategy. Breanne was formerly head of institutional wealth services at goldman sachs. She will help one of cryptocurrency’s longest standing firms in scaling its institutional offerings. This is similar to the move by Coinbase to extend its offerings for institutional clients. These hires and expansions by the market’s largest firms represent the continued institutionalisation of cryptocurrencies on the global financial landscape.
Bond. Long Bond(s)
With real rates being too positive, we see three scenarios: Opportunity to lock in rates at cycle high, government overreach to keep the economy afloat or a complete reset of the economy.
Steen Jakobsen,
Chief Investment Officer
Is a bond bull market ahead? Inflation still poses a risk for investors, but the moment for increasing duration to your portfolio may be approaching towards the end of the year, when central banks might be forced to cut interest rates.
Althea Spinozzi,
Senior Fixed Income Strategist
The furious rate hike cycle has brought gains in the US dollar, but with stagflation risks in Europe and the UK and weakness in the Chinese economy, USD may have more room to run. But a strong dollar could also have repercussions for US growth, emerging markets and commodity prices.
Charu Chanana,
Market Strategist
With the cost of capital rising painfully, stagflation fears are back, illuminating the fragile state of the green transformation, while giving a tailwind to nuclear power, and threatening the growth of AI-related stocks.
Peter Garnry,
Head of Equity Strategy
With supply tightness not only in energy but all commodities, the momentum in commodity prices may continue, pressuring central banks to lower real rates. That could be a good setup for precious metals, including gold, silver and potentially platinum as well.
Ole S. Hansen,
Head of Commodity Strategy
As the pandemic showed, even the US Treasury can experience seismic shifts. With the government increasing the pace of issuing bonds to support fiscal spending, the complex Treasury market and regulatory constraints could spark a liquidity event.
Redmond Wong,
Market Strategist
The tide has turned for bonds. Given the current yields, bonds have become an attractive investment, with added benefits including lower risk than stocks, increased diversification and a steady stream of income unaffected by economic changes.
Peter Siks,
Investment Coach
