The fourth quarter got off to a strong start, with bitcoin (BTC) bumping up against its all-time high late in the month and the Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) returning 7.2%.
Many crypto assets, however, struggled in October as the US elections and other uncertainties cast a shadow over bullish sentiment. Our CIO, Samir Kerbage, wrote about how the November 5th elections might impact investors and also joined a webinar with the CEO of The Digital Chamber to cover this topic in more depth. You can watch a replay of the webinar here.
As always, we are greatly appreciative of your trust in us and are here to answer any questions you may have.
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Market Review
October is typically a favorable month for crypto assets, particularly bitcoin (BTC). For this reason, the month is often referred to as “Uptober.” This year was no different: the Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) posted a 7.2% gain, despite slight declines in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 stock indices. However, unlike September, the vast majority of altcoins did not have a positive month.
In the first ten days of the month, the NCI™ gave back its gains from September. All NCI™ constituents recorded declines, except for Uniswap, which announced plans to develop its own layer two network on Ethereum. From then on, a strong recovery began, particularly for Bitcoin and Solana, which were up double digits by the 29th. This rally coincided with the sharp increase in Trump’s odds in election betting markets, and brought Bitcoin close to its all-time high. In the last two days of the month, crypto assets retreated, following the strong pessimism that overtook traditional markets.
Among NCI™ constituents, the positive highlights were Bitcoin and Solana, with gains of 10.6% and 9.0%, respectively. On the downside, Ripple dropped 18.6% due to the SEC lawsuit, while MATIC fell more than 20%, apparently due to migration to a new token called POL.
Among CF Benchmarks’ sectoral indices, the smallest drop was in the Smart Contract Platforms Index, mitigated by the performance of its main constituent, Solana. A similar effect was seen in the Digital Culture index, which dropped 7.6%, despite its largest constituent, SuperVerse, rising more than 20%. The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) index declined by 8.6%, with only Uniswap showing gains among its constituents. The Vinter Hashdex Risk Parity Momentum Index saw a small drop of 0.6%, heavily influenced by the sharp losses in Ripple and Near. In all five indices, the largest asset posted gains, but most other constituents did not.
In the near future, the US election results could serve as a trigger for a new all-time high in Bitcoin, as well as a recovery for smaller assets that are lagging this year. We remain optimistic about the development of the crypto asset class over the medium and long term.
Top Stories
Stripe acquires Bridge for $1.1B
Stripe acquired the stablecoin platform Bridge for approximately $1.1 billion, becoming Stripe’s largest acquisition and one of the biggest in the crypto sector. Bridge was created to compete with traditional payment networks like SWIFT and credit cards and helps Stripe’s growing interest in building a worldwide stablecoins infrastructure. This move boosts stablecoins credibility and signals an increasing fintech interest in Web3, potentially attracting more institutional investors and expanding blockchain-based financial use cases.
Robinhood launches crypto transfers in Europe
Robinhood Crypto has launched cryptocurrency transfers for customers in Europe, allowing deposits and withdrawals of over 20 cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH SOL. This was one of the most requested features by users in the region, and makes crypto transfers now available to all eligible Robinhood Crypto customers in Europe. This move signals the growing adoption of digital assets in Europe, boosting confidence in the asset class growth potential.
Bernstein predicts Bitcoin at $200,000 in 2025
Bernstein published a report predicting that Bitcoin could reach $200,000 by the end of 2025, driven by factors such as the halving, increased institutional adoption, and interest in inflation-hedging assets. Additionally, Bernstein foresees a growing integration of Bitcoin mining with artificial intelligence (AI), where about 20% of mining capacity could be redirected to AI by 2027. This underscores the growing integration of crypto and AI, driving technological advancements and boosting demand for both.
The third week of December was rough for crypto prices. The Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) fell 9.7%, led by lackluster performance from Bitcoin (-3.2%) Ethereum (-2.3%) and Solana (-6.4%). This negative performance comes after weeks of strong price action in the crypto market, fueled by a series of positive developments. On Wednesday, the Fed lowered rates once again but Chair Powell suggested these cuts may slow.
Bitcoin ETFs experience strong selling spree after positive streak of days
US spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced a record $680 million in net outflows on Thursday, ending a 15-day streak of positive flows totaling $6.7 billion. This could indicate potential profit-taking by investors, given Bitcoin’s impressive 119% appreciation since the start of the year. If we are indeed at the beginning of a bull market, corrections during this cycle are expected to be nominally larger, as BTC, currently valued at around $100,000, has the potential for further appreciation throughout this cycle.
Ether ETFs record inflows in December
ETH ETFs attracted $1.66 billion in new investments this December, accounting for 74% of their $2.24 billion total inflows since inception and reflecting growing institutional interest beyond Bitcoin. The strong inflow-to-market cap ratio signals rising confidence in Ethereum, potentially paving the way for a broader range of regulated crypto products to gain prominence.
From Hashdex: With the year’s end approaching, we would like to invite our readers to explore our Outlook 2025, as it offers key insights to help investors confidently navigate the crypto market in this upcoming year.
Amundi MSCI Europe Small Cap ESG Climate Net Zero Ambition CTB UCITSETFDist (X026 ETF) med ISIN LU2572257470, försöker spåra MSCI Europe Small Cap ESG Broad CTB Select-index. MSCI Europe Small Cap ESG Broad CTB Select-index följer europeiska småbolagsaktier. Värdepapper väljs och viktas enligt hållbarhetskriterier och EU:s direktiv om klimatskydd. Moderindexet är MSCI Europe Small Cap.
Den börshandlade fondens TER (total cost ratio) uppgår till 0,35 % p.a. Amundi MSCI Europe Small Cap ESG Climate Net Zero Ambition CTB UCITSETFDist är den största ETF som följer MSCI Europe Small Cap ESG Broad CTB Select-index. ETFen replikerar det underliggande indexets prestanda genom fullständig replikering (köper alla indexbeståndsdelar). Utdelningarna i ETFen delas ut till investerarna (Årligen).
Amundi MSCI Europe Small Cap ESG Climate Net Zero Ambition CTB UCITSETFDistär en liten ETF med tillgångar på 91 miljoner euro under förvaltning. Denna ETF lanserades den 10 mars 2023 och har sin hemvist i Luxemburg.
Investeringsmål
Amundi MSCI Europe Small Cap ESG Climate Net Zero Ambition CTB UCITSETFDistförsöker replikera, så nära som möjligt, prestanda för MSCI Europe Small Cap ESG Broad CTB Select Index. Delfondens mål är att uppnå en tracking error-nivå för delfonden och dess index som normalt inte kommer att överstiga 1 %. Denna ETF har exponering mot småbolagsvärdepapper i utvecklade marknader i Europa.
Det betyder att det går att handla andelar i denna ETF genom de flesta svenska banker och Internetmäklare, till exempel DEGIRO, Nordnet, Aktieinvest och Avanza.
Valour Pendle (PENDLE) SEK (Valour Pendle SEK) med ISIN CH1108679346, är en börshandlad produkt (ETP) som spårar PENDLE, den ursprungliga symbolen för Pendle Finance-protokollet. Pendle är en decentraliserad finansplattform (DeFi) som gör det möjligt för användare att tokenisera och handla framtida avkastning, vilket ger större kontroll över avkastningshanteringen. Genom att dela upp avkastningsbärande tillgångar i huvud- och avkastningskomponenter tillåter Pendle användare att engagera sig i fasta eller rörliga avkastningsstrategier.
PENDLE-tokenen underlättar deltagande i styrning och stimulerar likviditetsförsörjning inom ekosystemet. Genom sitt innovativa tillvägagångssätt för avkastningstokenisering, förbättrar Pendle flexibiliteten och effektiviteten i DeFi-avkastningsoptimering.
Beskrivning
Valour’s Certificate-produktlinje erbjuder börshandlade produkter som uppfyller kraven, var och en helt säkrad av sina respektive digitala tillgångar. För att säkerställa säker kylförvaring samarbetar Valour med nivå 1-licensierade förvaringsinstitut som Copper. Handlade på reglerade börser och MTFer ger dessa certifikat transparent prissättning och likviditet, vilket stärker investerarnas förtroende för säkra digitala tillgångsinvesteringar. Valours grundprospekt är godkända av Finansinspektionen och uppfyller EUs krav på fullständighet, tydlighet och konsekvens.
Det betyder att det går att handla andelar i denna ETP genom de flesta svenska banker och Internetmäklare, till exempel DEGIRO, Nordnet, Aktieinvest, Levler och Avanza.