Crypto Market Update

Rates moved higher on a hotter-than-expected NFP number, with a total of 272k jobs versus the forecasted 185k and well above last month’s 165k. However, unemployment rose to 4% from 3.9%, slightly above the expected 3.9%. The DXY increased to 104.8 from just above 104.1, and the US 10Y moved back above 4.4%. Major equity indices are higher after selling off premarket, and crypto appears to be moving in the same direction. BTC 1.22% is back to around $71.5k, SOL -0.39% above $171, while ETH 3.13% hovers just above $3800, with ETHBTC continuing to retrace some of its recent gains. Among large/mid-cap outperformers are STX 1.92% and ORDI -4.78% , which are tied to the BTC 1.22% ecosystem and moving up in tandem with the BTC 1.22% -led market, and W -3.85% , the native token of the interoperability protocol Wormhole, which is up significantly after the launch of multi-chain staking and governance this morning. Miners are continuing their recent outperformance, with IREN, CLSK, and CORZ all up over 5%.

SMLR Buys BTC, Plans to Buy More

Semler Scientific (SMLR 1.07% ), a publicly traded medtech company, increased its Bitcoin holdings yesterday by purchasing an additional $17 million worth of BTC, bringing its total to 828 BTC, valued at over $58 million. The company also announced plans to raise an additional $150 million in debt to fund future Bitcoin purchases. This move underscores their commitment to a dual strategy of running a profitable medtech business while actively acquiring Bitcoin. This approach mirrors the strategy employed by MicroStrategy (MSTR -4.97% ). Should the market begin to ascribe a similar premium to BTC NAV for SMLR, it could significantly benefit shareholders.

Telegram Launching In-App Token

Telegram has launched “Telegram Stars,” an in-app token for purchasing digital goods and services, which can be swapped for Toncoin (TON -37.82% ) on the Fragment platform. This move follows Toncoin’s all-time high of $7.76, with its market cap nearing $18 billion. Stars are aimed at incentivizing developers to build on Telegram by allowing them to reinvest in promoting their apps, potentially reducing overall commission costs. The initiative enhances Telegram’s ecosystem by integrating digital currency for seamless in-app transactions. This announcement followed reports indicating that a TON wallet is now first in the Finance category on Google Play, surpassing major apps like Binance at 6, Coinbase at 26, and Phantom, which has dropped to 27 after previously topping the category.

Technical Strategy

Mark is out today, so we are resharing his analysis from Wednesday. He will return on Monday.

Maple’s rally to the highest closing levels since mid-April is a promising technical development that should propel this higher up to near $20.50 before much resistance.  Technically speaking, the recent two-month pattern resembles a reverse Head and Shoulders pattern and Wednesday’s breakout should help this begin a push back to retrace at least 50% but more likely 61.8% of the prior drawdown from late March without too much trouble.  Volume is likely to expand to at least the highest levels in a month as of today’s close, and any act of MPL -4.61% closing near the highs of today’s range should help this breakout extend.  Pullbacks should encounter firm support near $15-$15.25 which would make this more attractive on a risk/reward basis.  However, given today’s surge, it’s more likely that immediate upside follow-through gets underway

Daily Important Metrics Crypto Size Bullish signal is tied to the crypto market growing Market cap 2.65T +$10B (0.39%) BTC Dominance 53.28 % (0.34%) Stablecoins Increase in circulating stablecoins is a Bullish signal In Circulation +$112B (0.04%) In Exchanges +$20B (1.22%) BTC Metrics A decrease in Bitcoin on exchanges is bullish, indicates investors are moving coins to cold storage # BTC Exchanges +$2.3M (-0.06%) Funding Rates Positive funding rates indicate traders are Bullish Aggregate +1.2980 (-0.0053) Binance +1.0572 (0.0646) Bitfinex +1.7156 (0.5745) Bitmex +1.0000 (0.0000) ByBit +1.0309 (-0.1072) Deribit +0.9072 (0.1683) Huobi +1.2895 (1.2895) Kraken +1.8389 (-0.0434) Mean +1.2980 (-0.0053) OKex +2.8019 (0.0000) Sentiment BMI : 32 (100.00%) Futures A positive spread between Futures Prices and Spot Prices is Bullish CME Price $72,250 (0.96%) Spot Basis +$907 (1.27%) Volume 388,917 (-18.53%) Open Interest 293,002 (0.89%) Options all exchanges Higher open interest change in a bull market is bullish for the sector Volume 17,578 (-39.67%) Open Interest 253,239 (3.11%) Vol. Put/Call Ratio 0.7272 (79.81%) OOI Put/Call Ratio 0.4518 (-2.92%) All metrics as of 2024-06-07 12:00:31 All Funding rates are in bps Crypto Prices Symbol Market Cap Last Price Daily Change Year to Date Relative to BTC YTD BTC $1.40T $70,985 -0.49% 68.08% ETH $456B $3,796 -1.15% 66.84% -0.73% SOL $78B $170 -2.05% 66.84% -0.74% DOGE $249,439 $0.0002 -12.69% -99.72% -99.83% All prices as of 2024-06-07 11:51:31 Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) Symbol Prem. to Nav Last Price Daily Change Year to Date Relative to BTC YTD BITW -32.38% $38 -0.47% 62.32% -3.43% ETHE -2.24% $35 -0.34% 81.07% 7.73% News Quick Bits CoinDesk Franklin Templeton Weighs New Crypto Fund Investing in Tokens Beyond Bitcoin, Ether: Report The private fund targeting institutional investors would offer exposure to a range of cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin and ether, The Information reported. Market Data The Block Base overtakes OP Mainnet in TVL, becoming largest Layer 2 network in OP Stack-based ‘Superchain’ Base, a Layer 2 network incubated at Coinbase, has grown its total value locked to $1.7 billion, marking a 20% increase since May’s start. The Block Semler Scientific acquires 247 bitcoins, announces $150 million raise to buy more With the additional purchase of 247 bitcoins, Semler’s portfolio of 828 BTC is worth nearly $59 million at its current market value. The Block BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF surpasses 300,000 BTC in assets under management Last week, BlackRock's IBIT surpassed the AUM of Grayscale’s converted GBTC fund, now accounting for over $21 billion. CoinDesk U.S. Added 272K Jobs in May, Blowing Past Estimates; Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.0% Recent soft economic and inflation data combined with rate cuts this week in Europe and Canada have investors rethinking expectations about Fed policy. Regulation The Block Hong Kong may allow staking for spot Ethereum ETFs as soon as this year: Animoca cofounder ETF issuers and custodians in Hong Kong are exploring the possibility of staking rewards, industry insiders told The Block. Fundraising and M&A CoinDesk Robinhood’s Bitstamp Deal is Strategic and Brings Added Institutional Exposure: Bernstein The acquisition will potentially allow the trading platform to offer a wider range of crypto products to a more institutional client base, the report said. CoinDesk Kraken Said to be Raising Over $100M Pre-IPO Funding: Bloomberg Kraken is looking to raise more than $100 million and this may be completed by the end of this year, Bloomberg reported.