Ethereum Completes Shapella Upgrade, $7.3 Billion in FTX Assets Recovered
Market Update
- March's Producer Price Index (PPI) data showed a downside surprise this morning, coming in at -0.5% MoM versus 0.0% expected and Core PPI at -0.1% MoM versus +0.2% expected. Traditional markets are rallying as the combination of CPI and PPI data has helped ease fears of inflation reaccelerating. The SPY 1.11% and QQQ 1.08% have risen 0.83% and 1.49%, respectively, while the DXY (-0.61%) is approaching its 2023 lows. Crypto markets are benefitting from the economic data and the successful completion of Ethereum’s Shapella upgrade, enabling withdrawals for ETH stakers and marking the completion of Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake. ETH 4.75% (+4.20%) eclipsed $2,000 in Thursday trading, and BTC (+1.40%) is holding above $30,400. Ethereum’s successful upgrade may spark a rise in ETH/BTC (+2.84%) as it alleviates an Ethereum-specific risk, and thus far, selling pressure from stakers appears to be less dramatic than some were forecasting.
- In a substantial update regarding the bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX, the Sullivan & Cromwell legal team, led by Andy Dietderich, announced that they have recovered $7.3 billion in liquid assets and cash. This is a significant increase from the roughly $2 billion which was communicated in January. Dietderich commented that a cash distribution is still a long way out but “the situation has been stabilized and the dumpster fire is out.” A preliminary reorganization plan is expected to be submitted by July, which will consider the potential reboot of the exchange. The largest roadblock to restarting the exchange would be the significant capital required. Possible options include funds coming from the FTX bankruptcy estate or outside investors. FTX’s token FTT surged over 100% Wednesday afternoon following the bankruptcy updates.
- Financial services companies WisdomTree, Wellington Management, Cumberland, and T. Rowe Price Associates are partnering with Avalanche to explore the feasibility of a blockchain-based foreign exchange. The exchange will use Avalanche’s Spruce Subnet, which is designed to enable financial institutions to experiment with blockchain infrastructure in a low-risk manner. Spruce falls under Avalanche’s Evergreen Subnets product, which are EVM-based chains with permissioned validator sets and custom gas tokens. Avalanche’s partners will be able to test FX and interest rate swaps on-chain using valueless tokens on the Spruce network. If testing goes well, Spruce will expand to additional asset compatibility and enable different financial processes, including tokenized equity and credit issuance. Spruce is pushing institutional adoption forward, enabling institutions to explore the benefits of on-chain settlement and its suitability for financial enterprises.
Daily Technical Strategy
Mark L. Newton, CMT
Head of Technical Strategy
Following Ethereum's Shapella upgrade, we've seen some meaningful outperformance which began during Wednesday's session (4/12) ETH 4.75% has achieved an absolute breakout above last August's (2022) peak, its first move back above $2000 since last Fall. Relative charts are also shaping up, and while it will require a bit more strength to help ETH's dominance chart and also ETHBTC to break out, this looks possible in the weeks ahead. Gains look likely to upside targets at $2200 initially and then $2400. The first target lies near prior lows from January 2022 along with representing a 100% alternative wave extension of ETH's initial move off the June 2022 lows. However, $2400 looks more appealing as an upside target, representing a Fibonacci based 38.2% retracement of the entire high-to-low range from November 2021 into June 2022. Counter-trend exhaustion signals could possibly form on weekly charts within 2-3 weeks' time. Moreover, this would also line up with cyclical projections of a possible late April peak. At present, trends and momentum are bullish, and not overbought on a weekly basis which should pave the way for additional gains in April.
Daily Important Metrics
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All metrics as of April 13, 2023 12:51 PM
All Funding rates are in bps
Crypto Prices
| Symbol | Market Cap | Last Price | Daily Change | Year to Date | Relative to BTC YTD |
 BTC | $587B | $30,344 | ↑ 1.28% | ↑ 83% | |
 ETH | $241B | $2,002 | ↑ 4.84% | ↑ 67% | ↓ -16% |
 ADA | $14B | $0.4130 | ↑ 2.80% | ↑ 67% | ↓ -16% |
 DOGE | $12B | $0.0871 | ↑ 5.94% | ↑ 24% | ↓ -59% |
 MATIC | $10B | $1.13 | ↑ 2.28% | ↑ 48% | ↓ -35% |
 SOL | $9.6B | $24.48 | ↑ 3.45% | ↑ 147% | ↑ 64% |
 DOT | $7.7B | $6.55 | ↑ 2.35% | ↑ 51% | ↓ -33% |
 LINK | $3.8B | $7.44 | ↑ 2.35% | ↑ 34% | ↓ -49% |
 NEAR | $1.9B | $2.18 | ↓ -0.30% | ↑ 71% | ↓ -12% |
Exchange Traded Products (ETPs)
| Symbol | Premium to Nav | Last Price | Daily Change | Year to Date | Relative to BTC YTD |
| GBTC | ↓ -37% | $17.78 | ↑ 4.16% | ↑ 114% | ↑ 31% |
| BITW | ↓ -56% | $11.74 | ↑ 2.54% | ↑ 119% | ↑ 35% |
| ETHE | ↓ -49% | $10.15 | ↑ 6.89% | ↑ 113% | ↑ 30% |
| BTCC | ↑ 0.38% | $5.62 | ↑ 2.00% | ↑ 85% | ↑ 2.31% |
News
QUICK BITS
CoinDesk EToro to Offer Crypto Trading Directly to Twitter Users The new service will see the social investing firm provide Twitter users with real-time price for cryptocurrencies, stocks and other assets while directing them... |
CoinJournal FTX considering relaunching in Q2 after asset recovery Bankrupt FTX has reportedly recovered $7.3 billion in assets. The embattled crypto exchange is considering relaunching in Q2, 2023. FTX is currently embroiled i... |
CoinDesk London Stock Exchange Unit to Clear Bitcoin Index Futures, Options LCH said its partnership with trading venue GFO-X shows its commitment to the growing crypto asset class |
CRYPTO INFRASTRUCTURE
CoinDesk Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade Activates, Starting New Era of Staking Withdrawals The Shapella upgrade was triggered at 22:27 UTC and is processing withdrawal requests. |
FUNDRAISING AND M&A
Coin Telegraph EOS Network lands $60M investment and partnership from DWF Labs DWF Labs invests over $60 million in a partnership with the EOS Network Foundation, providing a $45 million EOS token ... |
Coin Telegraph Crypto VC funding hits 2-year low, US firms still favorite: Galaxy Research Despite macroeconomic headwinds, a Galaxy Research report says activity could rebound in the second quarter of 2023 fo... |
HACKS, EXPLOITS, AND SCAMS
The Block Exploit involving Yearn Finance saw damages of $11.6 million: PeckShield An exploit involving DeFi protocol Yearn Finance took place earlier today, causing damages of $11.6 million, according to PeckShield. ... |
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