Markets are doing slightly better than the last 7 days; the crypto market gained 11% capitalization, with Bitcoin jumping 4.7% and Ethereum 9.4% since last Tuesday. The market sentiment is kept at the edge of its seat as speculators compare the liquidity crisis accumulating on the likes of BlockFi, Celsius, and other DeFi platforms to the financial crisis in 2008. On the brighter side of the tunnel, Bank of England’s Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said that crypto projects that survive these trying times in the industry could become the tech companies of the future; aligning with other bullish sentiments that deem the market crash as healthy to infiltrate the strong projects from the weaklings.

Figure 1: More VC Money in Digital Assets since Last Market Crash

Source: PitchBook, Bloomberg

Key Takeaways

• Cardano lobbies for software-enabled self-regulation for the cryptoassets industry• Data indicates nearing a market bottom

• Tether to launch GBP-pegged stablecoin

• KPMG kicks off collaboration hub in the metaverse

• Solana unveils web3-focused Android phone

Weekly Returns

The returns of the top five cryptoassets over the last week were as follows — BTC (1.7%), ETH (6.8%), BNB (6.86%), ADA(2.59%), XRP (9.39%)

Time frame: 21 to 27 June

Media Coverage

Our CEO and co-founder Hany Rashwan went live on CoinDesk TV on Monday to discuss market conditions. “As an ETF provider, we had the ability to create a number of new shares, as new investors come in, we’re in an all-time high in terms of number of shares, now the prices have obviously depressed but that shows an incredible amount of new investors and inflows,” Hany told CoinDesk TV. You can watch the full segment here.

On another note, 21Shares’ co-founder and president Ophelia Snyder got featured on Bein Crypto. The article reads: Many larger firms may also lack the technical expertise necessary to confidently deal with crypto assets. ”The level of technical detail you need is quite high,” said Ophelia. ”That reality disproportionately benefits specialized firms.”

Last but not least, our last newsletter was featured on Finanzen.ch and Bond Guide in German. If you want to switch to the German newsletter, click here.

News

Morgan Creek Digital and FTX Compete Over Acquiring Crypto Lender BlockFi

What happened?

On June 21st, BlockFi’s CEO Zac Prince announced on Twitter that his company signed a term sheet with FTX to secure a $250M revolving credit facility to provide access to capital that further bolsters the crypto lender’s balance sheet and platform strength. The proceeds of the credit facility were intended to be contractually subordinate to all client balances across all account types (BIA, BPY and loan collateral) and will be used as needed.
Three days later, news circulated that FTX in talks to acquire stake in BlockFi, nudging cryptocurrency investment firm Morgan Creek Digital to roll up its sleeves and raise $250M from investors to purchase a majority stake in crypto lender.

Why does it matter?

The downfall of prices that took a sharp turn in May had a domino effect on crypto exchanges and DeFi platform, namely BlockFi, which lost almost 80% of its valuation. There are four reasons this story matters:

1. The credit line agreement gives FTX the option to buy BlockFi at allegedly zero price.
2. This would effectively wipe out all of BlockFi’s existing equity shareholders, including management and employees with stock options, as well as all equity investors in the company’s previous venture rounds.
3. However, FTX’s agreement was the only emergency financing option offered to BlockFi that would not subordinate client assets to the rescuer.
4. Unless BlockFi went with FTX, its depositors would have had to wait in line behind the new lender to be repaid.

This is a further testament that the bear market is a battleground to test crypto projects in the space and thicken the skin of those who remain. The $250M revolving credit facility sets an example for bigger crypto companies to collaborate with younger projects to enhance accessibility of crypto markets.

Now with Morgan Creek wanting in on the deal, the trend is crystal clear that extreme market conditions have tempted companies to help younger projects amid times of fear, uncertainty, and doubt, while also getting in on the benefits that would be collected in the not-so-near future.

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.