Digital Assets Weekly
Please see important disclosures at the bottom of this report
Portfolio Strategy
In our prior note, we indicated that markets could likely see continued strength leading up into the Bitcoin halvening and that’s what we got this week. While my view has not changed since last week, this week I will offer investors 15 observation ahead of the halving.
The picture is not conclusive, but it paints an on balance positive story. Bitcoin still has room to go before reaching our weighted average 12-month price outlook of $14,350, but there’s a good chance the path there is not straight in my view.
We are still looking for prices to rally up into the halvening and will start to look more critically at the market in the immediate days before and weeks after for any signs of weakness. Based on current market conditions, we would not be surprised to see Bitcoin reach the $10k level before the event, and possibly have some retracement after.
Investors will recall that $10k was the highest probability market outlook scenario we published for Bitcoin back on March 17th after the sell off when prices sat around $5,400. While we’ve gotten here quite quickly:
Market Recommendations: With all of this in mind, our outlook for Bitcoin over the next 12 months and recommende...Reports you may have missed
Storm-Driven Claims, Political Shifts, and Seasonality Point to Bullish Crypto Setup for Late October
MARKET INCREASES PROBABILITY OF 'NO LANDING' Over the past week, a series of stronger-than-expected economic data releases have significantly impacted market sentiment:ROBUST ISM SERVICES PMI: The ISM Services Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 54.9, significantly above the forecasted 51.7.STRONG NON-FARM PAYROLLS (NFP): The economy added 254,000 jobs, surpassing the expected 140,000.FOMC MINUTES INDICATE DIVERGENCE: The FOMC minutes revealed non-consensus at the September meeting regarding whether to cut rates by...
CME Basis Suggests We Are Near a Tradable Low, Plus Some Thoughts on Positioning Ahead of the Election
A ROUGH STRETCH AMID RISING UNCERTAINTY SKEWS RISKS TO THE UPSIDE The past five trading days have been challenging for the crypto market, marked by significant uncertainty stemming from various geopolitical and economic events. Among the notable sources of market distress are:GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS: Iran’s missile attack on Israel has led to heightened anticipation of an Israeli response, with oil prices spiking to $74.NATURAL DISASTERS: A devastating hurricane in the Southeast...
PBOC ONE-UPPING THE FED This week, China’s central bank initiated what we believe are the first steps in a broader effort to stimulate the economy, which is struggling to meet its annual growth target of around 5%. These new measures are aimed at reviving economic activity and restoring confidence, especially in the real estate and equity markets, both of which are facing significant challenges. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC)...
OUR VERDICT: POWELL NAILED IT Yesterday, Powell did exactly what risk assets wanted him to do—their actions were dovish, with a 50-bps cut and guidance for two more by year-end, but their economic commentary remained reassuring. Many bears point to this as hawkish, and since it's hawkish, it's implicitly bad for risk assets (including crypto). In our view, if Powell had taken a significantly more dovish stance than he did,...