Crypto Research

WEEKLY RECAP After last week’s surge, funding and deal count fell to robust levels despite the short holiday week. Funding totaled $98 million in 13 deals announced, with the majority again raised by infrastructure. Companies tackling privacy, data, and wallet or L1 scalability improvements continue to get funded as investors remain confident that multiple winners can emerge from already competitive verticals. Our deal of the week, Blast, is another example...

The S&P 500 saw a 1% weekly increase, while the Nasdaq Composite experienced a 0.9% rise during the same period. This marks the fourth successive week of gains for major indexes, the longest streak since June for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Treasury yields reached their lowest levels in several months this week, fueled by optimism that inflation is subsiding and anticipation that the Federal Reserve might cease rate...

BINANCE RISK MITIGATED One of the most significant idiosyncratic risks in the crypto market has been the uncertainty surrounding Binance and potential action from the Justice Department against the world's leading exchange. Earlier this year, we anticipated that any disciplinary actions would likely involve criminal charges against Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and a fine against the exchange. From our September note: _Source: Fundstrat_ Today, these views were realized. CZ appeared in...

Throughout 2023, our research team has recommended seven venture-style investments, primarily focused on small-cap tokens. We have compiled brief updates on each of the projects in our portfolio to examine our initial investment theses and ensure they remain intact. Click HERE for the full report. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are set to host a joint conference at 3pm EST to announce “separate but related cryptocurrency enforcement actions.” It is believed they will announce a settlement of the DOJ’s criminal case against Binance. Details of the settlement are already beginning to emerge. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has officially stepped down as CEO and is pleading guilty to anti-money...

U.S. equities are rising to start the week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The SPX (+0.45%) is trading at $4,535, while the NDQ (+0.76%) is approaching $16,000. Investors will be watching Nvidia’s earnings release tomorrow, potentially serving as a catalyst for AI-related names. Crypto markets are rising following news that the U.S. Justice Department is seeking $4 billion in penalties from Binance in exchange for settling its criminal case against the...

WEEKLY RECAP Total funding surged to $383 million this week, more than tripling last week’s total. The majority came from three CeFi deals: Blockchain. com, Fnality International (DotW), and BC Technology Group. They all completed funding rounds of approximately $100 million, making up three of the ten largest deals this year. Infrastructure was the most popular category from a deal count perspective, tallying 10 deals, while the remaining deals were...

Stocks are lower today but still on pace to close three straight weeks of gains. The S&P fell 0.1%, while the Nasdaq lost 0.25%. Softer-than-expected inflation data has buoyed equities, but the question is whether investors have seen enough to continue the momentum. Yields were mixed as the 2Y gained 1%, the 10Y was up 0.5%, and the 30Y fell 0.11%. The 2Y and 10Y rates briefly touched lows not...

In this week's Crypto Comments video, we discuss the October CPI surprise, an improving macro liquidity environment, reasons for underperformance in crypto equities and how they may be gearing up for a catch-up. We also discuss the top performer in our core strategy, Solana, and how we're assessing the rally after a 4x jump in price over the last month. Click HERE for our full Crypto Strategy note. ?...

MARKET PRICES IN RATE CUTS The key macro event this week was the release of the October CPI data, which came in notably cooler than anticipated. The year-over-year CPI was slightly lower at 3.2%, just below the predicted 3.3%, while the month-over-month figure remained steady at 0.0%, in contrast to the expected 0.1%. This cooler inflation data spurred a surge in equity indices. It also bolstered investor confidence in the...