The G Code triple double is our monthly snap newsletter covering everything bitcoin, crypto, trading and G Code community related. Please be very aware that anything written is not financial advice and simply provided for informational purposes only.
June Recap 2023:
Global Crypto Market Cap is at $1.22T.
Bitcoin is up over 15% in the last 30 days, more significant is the increase in its dominance, which holds around a 50% share of the global crypto market cap.
If you want a breakdown of why this dominance is important, check out the Bitcoin Dominance Ratio write up.
SEC sues two major Crypto exchanges.
In June, the crypto market cap grew from $1.13T to over $1.19T. However, the month started with bearish news when the SEC filed lawsuits against Binance US and Coinbase for securities law violations. The SECs core indictment was both exchanges offered several unregistered securities and operated as an unregistered securities exchange. The news caused around $40B outflow in the crypto market within the first 24 hours after the news broke.
Coinbase has recently filed a motion to dismiss the SEC's lawsuit, arguing the regulator's approach has changed, and its claims lack merit. Coinbase denies its staking services are a security, and asks the court to dismiss the SEC's charges with prejudice, and grant judgment in its favor.
Bitcoin spot ETF applications fire up.
A week after this bombshell news, Black Rock, the world's largest asset management firm, applied for a Bitcoin spot ETF. A spot Bitcoin ETF would give Bitcoin more exposure and access to capital from deep-pocket investors, and the news of this triggered other large financial institutions like Fidelity, WisdomeTree, VanEck and Invesco to follow suit.
However, recently these applications have been deemed ‘inadequate’ according to the SEC citing a lack of clarity and comprehensiveness. Specifically, it has failed to identify an exchange that would enter into a “surveillance sharing agreement” with Nasdaq and Cboe, a requirement by the SEC to prevent fraud and manipulation of the asset in the market.
Reports now indicate these major asset managers are ‘resubmitting’ their applications with the SECs prerequisite information.
CPI figures improve.
Adding to the bullish market sentiment was the May 2023 consumer price index figures which came out at 3.8%, down 0.5% from the previous month. This slow reprieve from rate hikes may be short lived because the FEDs target of 2% is still a long way off.
The US market faces a period of uncertainty in July as the bond yield curve continues to flatten, despite the Federal Reserve's suspension on rate hikes.
AI generated Bull Market
Early excitement around technology giants creating consumer products using artificial intelligence has pushed the US benchmark S&P 500 into a technical bull market. Now, investors are keeping a watchful eye on the market as the AI-powered bull run has slowed down ahead of the US earnings season. The slowdown could indicate that the hype surrounding artificial intelligence has finally cooled off.
ASX commodities making gains
On a more positive note, June saw a comeback for ASX commodities. Both BHP and Rio Tinto saw an increase of approximately 8%, Fortescue Metal was up 15%, and Whitehaven Coal rose significantly by 17%.
Inflation for May also declined to 5.8%, a sharp drop from April's 6.8%. This drop in inflation strengthens the odds of the Reserve Bank of Australia giving up its rate hike plan in July. Additionally, China's economic rebound will also be closely monitored.
Hong Kong ETFs taps into crypto.
On the first day of June, Hong Kong's securities regulator allowed retail trading of select crypto assets. Although there is a long application process for exchanges in the region to be approved for retail investing, major financial institution like HSBC have begun offering crypto ETFs to their customers. Considering the limited variety of crypto ETF available for investment, mainly BTC and ETH, these two major market cap coins will receive a healthy amount of volume funnelled into them.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
BCH rallied 177% in the last 10 days of June. But why?
Large trading volumes on South Korean exchanges and the launch of EDX Markets, a new exchange backed by Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities, likely contributed to the recent price increase of BCH, which surpassed $300.
Also reported from major exchanges were heavy liquidation of BCH futures, with around $25million short and long cumulative positions. These liquidations likely contributed to the steep price increases that BCH experienced.
Overall, the market is experiencing a mix of positive and negative developments. Investors are advised to stay informed and keep a close watch on the trends and shifts in the market to make informed decisions.