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Big Tech, Liquidations, and an Outage: What happened in crypto last week?
Last week, Big Tech dominated the headlines with its earnings for the last quarter of 2023. In this report, we’ll talk about their correlation with crypto and how other macroeconomic indicators come into play. We’ll also shed light on liquidations the market is anticipating on the back of some bankruptcy proceedings. Finally, we’ll walk you through what we know about the Solana mainnet outage.
Earnings Week Spurs Optimism
Following the latest macroeconomic data, the Federal Reserve has opted to maintain interest rates within the range of 5.25% to 5.5%. In its recent statement, the central bank underscored the necessity for additional reassuring data before considering any reduction in borrowing costs. However, there are encouraging signs suggesting the U.S. economy is surpassing expectations. Notably, January witnessed robust job creation, with ~353K new positions added, exceeding the anticipated ~185K, holding the unemployment rate steady at 3.7% against the projected 3.8%. Moreover, wage growth surged annually to 4.5%, the highest increase in two years, while the U.S. manufacturing sector exhibited resilience and momentum, with the PMI index climbing from 47.1% to 49.1%.
Additionally, the U.S. economy experienced significant growth in the last quarter, expanding by 3.3% compared to an estimated 2%. Further, strong earnings reports from major companies like Meta and Amazon also bolstered confidence, with growth estimates surpassing expectations at 7.8% versus 6.4%, leading the SP500 to hit an ATH. Despite these positive indicators highlighting the U.S. economy’s resilience relative to others, the data suggests limited prospects for a Fed interest rate cut in March. Chairman Jerome Powell echoed this, emphasizing that “it is probably not the most likely case or the base case” for a March cut. Given Bitcoin’s recent mild recovery in correlation with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, shown below in Figure 1, it’s imperative to monitor economic indicators closely to gauge the potential spillover effects on the emerging asset. It’s also equally important to assess when the FED will cut interest rates as it’ll impact risk-on asset classes such as crypto since Quantitative Easing (QE) policies inject more capital and liquidity into the market while increasing investors’ risk appetite.
Figure 1: Bitcoin’s Correlation with Nasdaq and S&P 500
Source: TheBlock
Liquidations Anticipated as Part of Bankruptcy Proceedings of FTX and Genesis
After months of uncertainty, FTX will not relaunch its collapsed exchange and plans to pay its customers in total, which will be based on the prices of November 2022, when Bitcoin was priced at less than $17K as a consequence of the bankruptcy dollarization process. So far, FTX has recovered at least $7 billion in assets, which they are planning to liquidate to make their customers whole, which could take a toll on the market, similar to when FTX sold GBTC shares shortly following the approval of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S.
Additionally, Genesis is seeking court approval to sell $1.6 billion of its Grayscale Trust assets following a $21 million settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Users of FTX and Genesis form the two most significant headwinds along Mt. Gox creditors. Thus, It’s essential to realize any source of external selling pressure that could impact the market.
Funds Marked Safe Amid Solana’s Outage
After a year of stability, Solana experienced an outage lasting five hours on February 6 at 09:53 UTC. While over $3B in assets under management were reported safe, the outage only resulted in failed transactions. To resolve the issue that caused the network to halt, engineers from various ecosystem sectors collaborated to release a new validator software containing a critical patch. Validator operators were promptly instructed to upgrade their systems to initiate the network restart. By 14:57 UTC, Solana mainnet beta resumed block production following a successful upgrade to version 1.17.20 and a cluster restart managed by validator operators. Solana assured stakeholders that its engineering team is closely monitoring the network’s performance during the restoration process. Additionally, a post-mortem report investigating the root cause of the outage is currently in progress and will be shared on Solana’s communication channels once finalized.
This Week’s Calendar
Source: 21Shares, Forex Factory
Research Newsletter
Each week the 21Shares Research team will publish our data-driven insights into the crypto asset world through this newsletter. Please direct any comments, questions, and words of feedback to research@21shares.com
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.
Like Bitcoin, Dogecoin uses a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism but runs on its own blockchain, originally forked from Litecoin. It uses the Scrypt hashing algorithm, which is less resource-intensive than Bitcoin’s SHA-256, making mining more accessible to everyday users with consumer-grade hardware. Due to merged mining with Litecoin, Dogecoin benefits from shared infrastructure, with hashpower recently reaching all-time highs of 2.7 petahashes (quadrillion hashes) per second, making the network increasingly difficult to attack.
Dogecoin’s design is built for speed and utility, has no maximum supply, and confirms blocks every minute (10x faster than Bitcoin). Moreover, it maintains ultra-low transaction fees, which is ideal for tipping, microtransactions, and everyday use.
More than a meme
Although its supply is technically unlimited, Dogecoin’s issuance model is clear and predictable. Approximately 10,000 DOGE are mined every minute, adding up to around 5.25 billion new tokens each year. As the supply base expands, this fixed issuance creates a natural disinflationary trend that has cut nearly in half over the past decade while ensuring network security through consistent miner rewards.
Dogecoin’s technology fosters an aligned ecosystem between users and miners. With sustainable economic incentives, it acts as a kind of “retail Bitcoin”, built not just for hoarding but for real-world use, too.
While Dogecoin began as a lighthearted experiment, its evolution has proven it to be far more than a meme. Thanks to its speed, low fees, and strong community backing, Dogecoin has grown into a functional digital currency with a range of real-world use cases. From payments and merchant adoption to infrastructure development and charitable giving, Dogecoin continues to demonstrate its staying power as a practical and accessible tool in the broader crypto ecosystem.
Dogecoin as a payment tool
Dogecoin has transformed into a widely accepted digital currency, embraced by major brands like Tesla, AMC, Newegg, and the Dallas Mavericks. With fast transaction speeds and low fees, even amid surging transaction volumes, it has become a practical option for everyday payments. Crypto payment processors like BitPay have further expanded its reach, enabling thousands of merchants worldwide to accept DOGE. Most recently, The Open House Group, a prominent Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed real estate firm, added Dogecoin to its supported list, making it one of the few digital assets accepted for property transactions.
Enhancing Dogecoin’s payment infrastructure
Initiatives like Dogebox and GigaWallet are simplifying DOGE integration for businesses, while its scaling solution, Laika, is making meaningful progress in improving transaction speed and reducing costs.
Meanwhile, RadioDoge is working to expand access by enabling offline transactions in remote regions through low-cost radio and Starlink technology, advancing global crypto inclusion. A rumored integration with Elon Musk’s X platform could extend Dogecoin’s utility across digital tipping and commerce. These efforts collectively reinforce Dogecoin’s growing relevance in real-world payments and its potential as a frictionless, decentralized transaction layer.
Do Only Good Every Day
As we’ve seen, community drives memecoins, and Dogecoin’s community shines the brightest. This global network not only thrives on memes but also channels that energy into social good. From funding clean water in Kenya to sending Jamaica’s Bobsled Team to the Olympics and raising over $1 million for Ukraine relief, DOGE’s community transforms internet culture into real-world impact. Low fees and fast transactions make it a favorite for grassroots giving, showing a coin born as a joke can leave a lasting legacy. Dogecoin is more than a digital asset—it’s a movement powered by a community that believes in doing good every day.
Research Newsletter
Each week the 21Shares Research team will publish our data-driven insights into the crypto asset world through this newsletter. Please direct any comments, questions, and words of feedback to research@21shares.com
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.
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