Stably Weekly Newsletter – 04/17/2024

Announcements & Product Updates

• Instant ACH is now live: Instant ACH as an on-ramp method is now enabled for all users 🎉 seamlessly buy crypto and stablecoins with your bank accounts within minutes through Stably Ramp for just 2% in fees!

• List your asset for free on Stably Ramp: We now offer a zero-fee listing program to any third-party project interested in listing its assets on Stably Ramp. In exchange, the project can integrate the Stably Ramp iFrame widget, enabling its users to onboard from 170+ countries/regions and buy, sell, or swap these assets with stablecoins and traditional payment methods. Interested projects only need to apply. We will list the requested asset within 30 days if (1) we can source on-chain liquidity for it, (2) the project completes integrating Stably Ramp, and (3) the project passes our internal compliance review process.

Market & Industry Highlights

• • 04/10 (Reuters) – SEC Warns Uniswap Labs of Potential Enforcement Action
  • 04/11 (Decrypt) – Chainlink Transporter to Bridge Assets Across Ethereum, Optimism, and Base
  • 04/12 (Cointelegraph) – Pac Finance Sudden Parameter Change Sparks $24 Million Liquidation
  • 04/13 (CryptoPotato) – 50% of Solana’s Recent Token Launches Revealed as Malicious Scams
  • 04/14 (CNBC) – Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Tumble Amid Middle East Tensions
  • 04/15 (Forkast) – Hong Kong Approves Spot Bitcoin ETF
  • 04/16 (CoinDesk) – Spot Bitcoin ETF Hype Dies Down, Normalcy Sets In
  • 04/17 (CoinDesk) – US Senators Take on Stablecoin Legislation With New Bill

• Market Commentary from Stably: The crypto market has followed in lockstep with traditional markets since last week’s CPI release, despite a brief period of non-correlation initially. In our last newsletter, we commented that investors are likely to price in less Fed interest rate cut probabilities this year in the face of elevated inflation and stock valuations, putting more bearish pressure on stocks and bonds. The bearishness and uncertainties around Middle East tensions are now impacting crypto, with Bitcoin down to about $61K since last week’s $70K high ahead of the Bitcoin Halving this weekend.

• Market Commentary from QCP Capital: Some calm is slowly returning to the market with BTC and ETH stabilizing around the $63K and $3K levels, respectively. The options desk saw mostly sellers of front-end vols pushing vols down to 70% from highs of over 100%! Funding has also normalised with perp rates flattish and the forward curve settling around 10%. We were surprised by how calm the markets were given Powell’s hawkish comments which caused the market to price out more Fed cuts this year. Perhaps we’ll see some consolidation from an exhausted market in the short-term.

7-day crypto price performance heatmap.

• Junk Bonds Commentary from Stably: In times of market stress, bond ETFs have consistently provided price discovery and the ability for investors to express their differing investment views in real-time. Historically, when junk bond ETFs were above their 200-day moving average, it indicated a risk-on investor sentiment typically bullish for risk assets. Conversely, being below this average may suggest bearishness. For more information, please refer to this hypothetical backtest for trading Bitcoin based on 200-day moving average signals from the JNK ETF.
  
  As of today, JNK is 2.50 points above its 200-day moving average (vs. an all-time average of 1.20 points). This could be interpreted as a bullish signal for both equities and crypto in the short term.

Top pane: JNK with a 200-day simple moving average. Center pane: S&P 500. Bottom pane: BTC.

• Alt Season Commentary from Stably: The 12-Month Alt Season Index is an indicator that measures the relative price performance of altcoins vs. Bitcoin in the previous 12 months. When the Index rises above 50, it signifies altcoins outperforming Bitcoin which is typically associated with major crypto market rallies (for example, during the 2021 bull market and DeFi Summer 2020).
  
  As of today, the Index’s value is 27. This could be interpreted as Bitcoin outperforming altcoins for the time being, which means that a major crypto rally and alt season are still not in play, yet.

12-Month Alt Season Index.

• DeFi & Stablecoin Commentary from Stably: DeFi total value locked (TVL) and total stablecoin market capitalization are two reliable on-chain metrics to assess the crypto market’s current health. Rising TVL and stablecoin market capitalization indicate an increasing level of investor trust and engagement within the DeFi ecosystem, suggesting a robust and growing market. On the other hand, declining TVL and stablecoin supplies can signal a decrease in market liquidity and investor confidence, often reflecting bearish market sentiments.
  
  As of today, the total TVL in DeFi and the total stablecoin market capitalization stood at $158.33 billion (-10.06% WoW) and $156.80 billion (+0.45% WoW), respectively. This could be interpreted as a neutral signal for the crypto market as well as DeFi in the short term.

DeFi TVL and total stablecoin market capitalization.

Other Updates

• Trustpilot Review: As a valued user of Stably Ramp, your experience with our platform is highly valuable to us. We would greatly appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on TrustPilot, helping others to understand the benefits of our service. Your feedback is not only appreciated but also instrumental in shaping our community and services.