- Markets are reacting favorably to signs of cooling inflation. This morning, the Commerce Department announced spending by US households decreased by 0.2% MoM, with PCE (Fed's current preferred gauge of inflation) rising 5% in December (vs. 5.5% in November). December Core PCE rose 4.4% (vs. 4.7% in November), growing at its slowest pace since October '21. $SPX and $NDAQ are trading 0.3% and 0.7% higher, while $QQQ is 0.8% higher than yesterday's close. $BTC (+0.6%) and $ETH (-0.3%) are mostly flat over the past day after having appreciated 9.7% and 2.5%, respectively, in the past week. $APT (+126%) and $BTSE (+63%) have been the top gainers in the past week. Aptos has benefitted from multiple short squeezes and high trading volumes on Korean exchange Upbit, while BTSE is a thinly-traded ($300k 24h volume) exchange token on $500m market cap.
- Late yesterday, a 116-page document was filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Delaware that provides an extensive overview of FTX creditors. Notable companies appearing on the list include digital service providers such as Amazon Web Services, Apple, LinkedIn, Twitter, Netflix, and Adobe, as well as crypto industry players like Coinbase, Binance Capital Management, Chainalysis, Yuga Labs, Doodles, BlockFi, and Silvergate Bank. In addition to corporate entities, the creditor list includes individual creditors such as star athletes like Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Tom Brady and David Ortiz. The list also includes the Prime Minister of the Bahamas and other governmental offices for the island nation, as well as U.S. state tax, consumer affairs, and attorney general offices. While the document does not specify the exact amount owed to each creditor, FTX owes more than $3 billion to its top 50 creditors, many of whom are institutional investors.
- Decentralized lending protocol Aave eliminated 2.7m in $CRV bad debt from a botched attack that took place in November. Following a governance vote on Tuesday, the protocol purchased the tokens via Paraswap ahead of the Aave v3 upgrade. He attempted to orchestrate a short squeeze on CRV by forcing developers to buy back his positions at high slippage due to a lack of liquidity. Interestingly, the liquidator of the bad debt is up ~$1m from their CRV purchase due to anticipation of the crvUSD launch. The attack was described as a 'highly profitable trading strategy' by Avi Eisenberg, who previously drained Mango Markets and caused $47m in net damages. Following charges by the SEC and CFTC, Avi is now also being sued by Mango Markets for manipulating the $MNGO price and the exploit.
FTX Releases Creditor List, Aave Clears CRV Bad Debt
|
Reports you may have missed
We are finally starting to see some relief in interest rates and the DXY 0.00% following yesterday's FOMC meeting and the Treasury's quarterly refunding announcement. BTC 4.29% has rebounded from yesterday's low of $56.5k and is now trading just above $59k, while ETH 3.01% is attempting to break through $3k resistance. SOL 2.29% has outperformed, gaining 10% compared to BTC yesterday and is now trading just below $140. The market is showing decent breadth...
Risk markets were selling off before today's FOMC meeting where it was unanimously voted to keep interest rates steady. The Fed announced it would be reducing the speed of its balance sheet taper from $60 billion per month to $25 billion per month, a larger than expected reduction. Following the announcements and Chair Powellâs comments, yields turned sharply lower with the US10Y falling 9 basis points while equity indices rose....
We are witnessing a continuation of the recent weakness in crypto markets today, with BTC 4.29% now testing $60k, ETH 3.01% just below $3k, and SOL 2.29% dipping under $130. The broader altcoin market is experiencing even more pronounced declines, with very few names posting a green candle today. The market was pushed lower in the overnight hours following a disappointing debut from the Hong Kong ETFs (more on that below). However, this...
Investors will have a lot to digest this week, including various data releases such as consumer confidence, ADP Employment, JOLTS, and non-farm payrolls. Likely more important is the FOMC meeting and Treasury Quarterly Refunding Announcement (QRA), both set for Wednesday. Equities are gaining to start the week with the $SPY and $QQQ both up approximately 0.30% as the DXY 0.00% (-0.44%) slides after the BOJ intervened to support the Yen against the dollar. Crypto assets are struggling so...