Overview
- Twitter and the DogeFather
- BTC holding trend, Stock market fear
- N. Korea behind Ronin Hack
- Punk 5629’s metaverse
Twitter and the DogeFather
Art by Beeple
He is conquering space, automobiles, and now social media? Elon Musk, the man who needs no introduction, has offered to buy Twitter for US$43b to transform it into a free-speech-enabled platform and add a much-coveted “edit” button.
So what does this has to do with crypto? Musk has an array of nicknames, but here in the cryptoverse, he’s known as the DogeFather because of his infatuation and backing of DogeCoin (DOGE). The coin has even accompanied his creations into space.
Something interesting is brewing. Suppose the offer for Twitter is accepted, Musk will attempt to integrate DOGE into the second-largest social media platform in the world, behind Facebook. The integration would give Twitter’s nearly 400 million users access to DOGE as means of payment. It would be an exciting development considering there isn’t a network as expansive as Twitter with a crypto-based payment system. Despite Meta’s lackluster attempts when it rolled out Diem.
The news seems promising if you’re a DOGE holder, and it might be time to take DogeCoin seriously despite its meme coin label and cool-looking dog logo. DogeCoin Foundation released a detailed roadmap recently, a first for the chain. Additionally, the coin utilizes the power of magic internet satellite beams via StarLink (another Musk creation) to process payments offline. Interestingly, someone noticed because DOGE is up +3% in a sea of red today.
We’re still far away from a World Dogecoin Standard and a DogeFather world presidency, but oddly, a lot closer than the average joe realizes. A humbling thought considering the US$19b project began as a joke. But, at a minimum, the developments are intriguing as they play out. So, enjoy the show from our unique crypto-lens perspective but don’t run off to sell your house for Dogecoin just yet.
Market update 🌍
Can BTC hold the trend?
After Wallard gifted the charts his five cents yesterday, markets returned to their previously feeble state. Bitcoin (BTC), which closely correlates with traditional market action (for the time being), fell by 2.98% to break below 40k for the first time in a month. BTC continues to test the uptrend as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) drops. Bitcoin completed the US trading session at US$39,900.
Source: Trading View
The exchange net flows trigger when bitcoin is moving to and from exchanges. Entities tend to move bitcoin away from exchanges when they plan to store it and into exchanges when they sell. The metric has little effect on price but helps spot accumulation. Yesterday, nearly 25k of BTC outflowed. The chart shows a considerable accumulation of BTC in the previous month. Historically, whales and longer-term holders tend to accumulate when the rest of the market is uncertain. On the other hand, retail investors typically fall more for the whims of positive market sentiment and buy near the tops.
Source: CryptoQuant
VIX highlights up-trending fear
While bitcoin and traditional markets remain highly correlated, it helps to keep an eye on specific aspects of the stock market. For example, the Volatility S&P Index (VIX), which spots fear and uncertainty in traditional markets, rose 4.08% today and looks to continue an overall uptrend. The VIX tends to spike during adverse macro events and settles to a base over time. The fact the VIX is up-trending doesn’t bold well for markets that would ultimately want to see a breakdown of the trend.
Source: Trading View
| US markets close | Gain |
| S&P 500 | -1.21% |
| Nasdaq | -1.57% |
| Dow | +2.07% |
| VIX | +4.08% |
| Protocol (Coin) | Price ($) | Gain (%) |
| STEPN (GMT) | 2.28 | +5 |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | 0.144 | +2.6 |
| Kyer Network (KNC) | 4.54 | +16 |
| Audius (AUDIO) | 1.20 | +8 |
| JUST (JST) | 0.08 | +6 |
| Origin Protocol (OGN) | 4.58 | +17 |
| DigitalBits (XDB) | 0.55 | +14 |
| Status (SNT) | 0.07 | +10 |
| Propy (PRO) | 2.47 | +38 |
| Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index | 22 Extreme Fear (-6) |
| “Crypto Taxes” Google Trends | 77 |
| “Bitcoin” Google Trends | 38 (+1) |
Newswatch 📰
N. Korea is stealing Axies. The US Treasury Department has linked the infamous Lazarus Group, an online crim syndicated from North Korea to the recent US$540m Ronin (RON) hack after an investigation with the FBI noted the wallet belonged to the group. The hackers, backed by the N. Korean government, have stolen an estimated US$1.75b worth of crypto since 2017 and utilize the assets to reportedly help the government fund the purchase and manufacturing of weapons.
Avalanche raising more mulla. The firm behind Avalanche (AVAX) network, Ava Labs, seeks to raise US$350m at the valuation of US$5.25b, according to Bloomberg. The valuation makes Avalanche one of the highest valued crypto startups in the world.
Uniswap Widget. Unswap (UNI) announces the launch of Swap Widget, which “bundles the whole Uniswap experience into a single React component that developers can easily embed in their app with one line of code.” The widget of an update has positive implications for the Decentralized Exchange’s (DEX) adoption.
On-chain ⛓
Acala + Anchor. Anchor protocol (ANC) and Acala network (ACA) integrated after Acala announced plans to join Wormhole bridge. The partnership will serve as a gateway into Polkadot (DOT) and Terra (LUNA) ecosystems. Yesterday, Additionally, Anchor announced the addition of Liquid DOT (LDOT) into its protocol to utilize DOT as collateral.
NFT & metaverse update 🐵
Punk 6529
Creator of the open-metaverse. Famous crypto advocate, Punk 6529 unveils his secret open metaverse project in a 31-page tweet asking for community collaboration in development. Punk 6529 notes that the metaverse will be free, open, and scale to 100m users.
Crypto Raiders Tourney. NFT-based dungeon crawler Crypto Raiders (RAIDERS) has announced the forthcoming Raider International Tournament for 2022, with a guaranteed US$1m prize pool, the largest prize pool of any blockchain tournament to date.
Notable Mints:
| Project | Type | Mint price | Date of mint | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 Dynasty | PFP | 0.09 ETH | April 15 | 05:00 UTC |
| GS Warriors | Pictures | $US 499.99 | April 15 | 19:00 UTC |
| Sticky DAO | Membership | 0.069 ETH | April 16 | 07:00 ET |
| The Sevens Eve | PFP | 0.07 ETH | April 19 | 15:00 ET |
Banter’s take
Art by Beeple
After writing today’s newsletter I thought, is this real-life or a crypto-induced dream?
Crypto embodies a colorful world of unique projects, NFT avatars, communities, collaborations, tokens, and metaverses. A universe of kids that became rich overnight. Additionally, it’s a place where governments are adopting bitcoin, North Koreans are stealing Axies, and old officials all around the globe are confused about how to handle the modern changes. The Crypotverse is where DogeFathers, Crypto Punks, and Bored Apes expand, explore, and create. It’s mind-blowing and exciting to cover. It opens imaginations, creates jobs, and breaks down financial barriers. It’s one of a kind, and best of all……..it’s open to everyone.
Gabri @web3_gabri
