Month: March 2023

Bet on ARB Airdrop with Put Options: Profit on First-Day Price Action

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• ARB token derivative markets are popping up on centralized and decentralized exchanges ahead of Thursday’s airdrop.
• Clober is offering traders put options with strike prices of 50 cents, $1, $2, $4, $8 and $16.
• The put options have an expiry date of March 24, allowing traders to bet on the first-day price action of ARB when trading goes live.

Arbitrum Put Options Let Traders Bet on First Day Price Action

A new wave of derivatives contracts has emerged in the run-up to Arbitrum (ARB)’s airdrop scheduled for Thursday 23rd March. Options marketplace Clober is offering traders the opportunity to purchase put options with strike prices of 50 cents, $1, $2, $4, $8 and $16. These have cumulatively seen over $50,000 in trading volumes in the past 24 hours since they were issued.

What Are Put Options?

Put options are a type of option that increases in value as the price of the underlying asset – such as a token or equity – falls. This allows investors to gain exposure to assets without buying them outright; rather than purchasing the underlying asset itself, traders can buy into puts which will increase in value if their prediction that the price will fall is correct.

ARBitrum Put Option Details

The ARB put options available from Clober have an expiry date of March 24th – one day after the claim event. This effectively means that traders can make bets on how ARB tokens will perform after they start being traded on exchanges following the airdrop event. As such it provides an easy way for investors to take advantage of potential gains should there be significant volatility when trading begins.

Why Are People Betting On The Airdrop?

Given that this is ARB’s first foray into public markets speculation has been rife regarding how it might be traded when it goes live later this week. Many believe that its initial trading session could be highly volatile due to both hype around its upcoming launch and uncertainty surrounding its long-term prospects given its brand new status as a decentralized asset class offering lucrative staking rewards for holders who stake their tokens through Arbitrum smart contracts on Ethereum mainnet..

Conclusion

The availability of put option contracts from Clober gives investors an opportunity to hedge against potential losses by betting against an increase in ARB’s market cap during its first day trading session; however it should not be forgotten that these are still speculative investments and carry a degree risk attached no matter what outcome may occur following Thursday’s launch event

Bitcoin Booms as Banking Crisis Hits U.S.: Is This the Great Reset ?

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• Bitcoin is experiencing a double-digit rally, possibly in response to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank.
• Tatiana Koffman, investor and author, believes this could be the beginning of the “Great Reset” which Bitcoin was created to address.
• Alex Thorn will discuss “Bitcoin and Inflation: It’s Complicated” at Consensus 2023.

The Great Reset

Investor and author Tatiana Koffman is just one among many who have turned to bitcoin amid a plague of bank runs – possibly the beginning of what she has described as the “Great Reset.” The Bitcoin network was created as a direct response to the Great Financial Crisis in 2008, during a period when many hardworking people felt both the government and the financial system were working against them.

Bank Runs

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank continue to ripple through the markets, causing U.S. bank stocks to plummet. Most recently, Charles Schwab’s stock was halted in trading Monday morning. Meanwhile, bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market are experiencing a double-digit rally, which may be the first time that bitcoin is rallying in a risk-off environment.

Built for This Moment

Perhaps this is exactly the moment bitcoin was built for. The very first block of Bitcoin had an inscription in its code: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” Now that regulators are gearing up to backstop another centralized financial system collapse, value is flowing into bitcoin — leading some investors like Koffman to believe this could be it —the start of what she has described as The Great Reset — where people take control over their own finances away from centralized systems and toward decentralized currencies like bitcoin that cannot be manipulated or controlled by governments or corporations alike.

Alex Thorn at Consensus 2023

Alex Thorn will speak on “Bitcoin and Inflation: It’s Complicated” at Consensus 2023. He serves as Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital Capital Management LLC., offering his expertise on bitcoin with deep understanding on its implications globally across markets and finance infrastructure as well as its potential impact on inflationary pressures worldwide.

Conclusion

Bitcoin appears to have been built for moments like these – when trust in traditional banking institutions fails – making it an attractive option for those who want more autonomy over their finances without having to rely on third party entities such as banks or governments. Amidst this banking crisis there is hope that we can all benefit from decentralization technologies such as cryptocurrency – giving us more freedom than ever before!

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Discount Narrows Ahead of ETF Hearing

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• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) discount to net asset value has fallen to its lowest level in a month.
• The closed-end fund’s discount had widened to 47% in mid-February but is now at 42%.
• Investors are hopeful that the discount will continue its recent narrowing should the courts be receptive to Grayscale’s ETF arguments.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) Discount

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) discount to net asset value has fallen to its lowest level in a month, currently sitting at 42%. In mid-February, the closed-end fund’s discount had widened to 47%, but investors are hopeful that the discount will continue its recent narrowing should the courts be receptive to Grayscale’s ETF arguments.

Oral Arguments Tuesday

Grayscale is appealing the SEC’s decision to deny the conversion of their trust into an exchange-traded fund, and oral arguments for their case are set for Tuesday. The company is preparing to argue that they were treated inappropriately compared with earlier decisions allowing bitcoin futures-based ETFs.

Investors Buying GBTC

Some investors have been buying GBTC ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, hoping for a positive outcome from Grayscale’s lawsuit against the SEC. GenTwo analyst Pablo Jodar said this buying can be seen as equivalent “to buying bitcoin at a discount” – though it comes with risk attached.

Laurent Kssis’ Views

Crypto trading adviser Laurent Kssis of CEC Capital said he believes “the market will react positively if regulators approve GBTC as an ETF,” adding that he expects more institutional money entering crypto markets if this occurs. He also noted that even without approval, there could still potentially be a strong inflow of capital into BTC as long as cryptocurrencies remain attractive relative to traditional assets like stocks and bonds.

Conclusion

Regardless of what happens during today’s hearing, investor interest in BTC remains high – and any outcome from this week’s court proceedings could shape sentiment either way in the weeks or months ahead.

Crypto Crime Soars to All-Time High of $20.6B in 2022: Chainalysis

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• Chainalysis released a report indicating crypto crime hit an all-time high of $20.6 billion in 2022.
• The report attributed this increase to sanctioned activity and hacking.
• Kim Grauer, head of research at Chainalysis, stated that the bear market brought on certain types of crimes.

Crypto Crime Soars to All-Time High

Chainalysis, a blockchain sleuthing firm, recently revealed that crypto crime reached an all-time high of $20.6 billion worth of blockchain transactions in 2022. This was according to their findings which were presented by Kim Grauer, the firm’s head of research, who stated that the bear market brought on certain types of crimes.

Sanctioned Activity and Hacking Drive Increase

The Chainalysis report further indicated that criminal activity accounted for 0.24% of all blockchain transactions last year; an increase from the year before (0.12%). In particular, sanctioned activity and hacking were identified as the driving forces behind the rise in illicit transaction volumes last year; with roughly $3.8 billion stolen from crypto businesses alone.

OFAC Crackdown on Crypto Platforms

In 2021, the U.S Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) began to crack down on crypto platforms rather than singling out individual bad actors through their addresses – leading to increased scrutiny across these platforms for any suspicious activities taking place on them. This resulted in better enforcement measures which have led to a decrease in other forms of illicit activity while sanctioned activity and hacking saw a significant spike instead.

Crypto Crime is Still Small Share

Despite hitting an all-time high last year, it is important to note that crypto crime still accounts for only a small portion (less than 1%) of total volume when it comes to blockchain transactions globally – making it far less prevalent than incidents involving traditional currency or banking services related crimes such as money laundering or fraud schemes targeting individuals or businesses alike online or offline..

Conclusion

Overall, Chainalysis’ findings from their latest report reveals just how much potential there is for cryptocurrencies when it comes to global commerce but also highlights its drawbacks if left unchecked – making it clear why regulations and enforcement measures are needed for these digital assets in order to ensure safety and security across exchanges worldwide going forward into the future..