Good morning Here’s what happens:
Prices: At the start of Asian trading, bitcoin remains above $30,000 despite a slight pullback, while ether is trading lower
Insights: For investors and others touching the technology world, AI is the latest shiny object. Is their fascination premature?
With Asia open for trading, according to CoinDesk data, Bitcoin is still holding above the $30,000 level and is trading at $30,323, which is unchanged over the past 24 hours. Ether, meanwhile, is trading at $1,860, down 1.3%.
Shaun Fernando, chief risk officer at Deribit, told CoinDesk in a note that Bitcoin’s “maximum pain point,” or part of the market where option holders will suffer the most financial loss, while option sellers may be those who benefit most . is currently at $26,000, which should alleviate some price pressure after the upcoming options expiration.
“With an impressive open interest of over $350 million at the 30,000 mark, the upcoming quarterly expiry promises an exciting close that holds the potential for price turmoil amid various gamma hedging strategies,” said Fernando.
Fernando pointed out that while ether has seen significant institutional selling activity, implied volatility is still lower than bitcoin.
The hype about AI does not reflect reality
Critics of the digital asset industry say it’s buzzword-heavy and unsustainable, always chasing the next trend without giving much thought to its sustainability.
And for the most part they are right.
Over the weekend, 8btc, one of China’s first crypto publications, released announced that it would give up the entire field and focuses primarily on covering AI and the metaverse.
Venture capitalists seemingly bored with blockchain and crypto have discovered a renewed interest in AI. PitchBook data shows that venture capital funding for crypto fell 80% from $12.3 billion to $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023. PitchBook data also shows that AI startups raised $1.6 billion this quarter and another $10 billion in deals announced but not yet closed.
Certainly there are some similarities between the AI and enterprise blockchain hype cycles.
Even at the height of blockchain mania, the prelude to the Covid bull market, there wasn’t the same enthusiasm as there was for AI. Given the disappointment at the bursting of the blockchain bubble in enterprises, one would think that stakeholders would have learned their lesson about the enthusiastic acceptance of new technologies.
Robinhood ends support for Polygon, Cardano, and Solana
BitGo CEO Mike Belshe joined First Mover to discuss why the custodian ended its acquisition of rival Prime Trust after reaching a tentative agreement to acquire the company for an undisclosed amount earlier this month . Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) got off to a strong start this week, with the world’s largest digital asset trading above $30,000. Katie Talati, Head of Research at Arca, shared her analysis of the crypto markets. And Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, offered his thoughts on the current macroeconomic factors affecting cryptocurrencies after Russia briefly faced the threat of an armed insurgency over the weekend.