BlackRock: Crypto Transcends Currencies

Crypto Portfolio Tool | CyberProfile 1M Sign-Ups

Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
July 17, 2023

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Good Morning,

Happy Monday. The crypto markets have slightly retraced the weekend rally.

We’ve yet to see the second-order effects of the XRP ruling, combined with the ongoing Bitcoin ETF applications. Pay attention as these events will make or break the crypto market for the remainder of 2023.

In Today's Email:

What Matters: Bitcoin transcends currency 👨‍⚖️
Products: Clustr, crypto portfolio tool 🖥️
Charts: Lens dip, CyberProfile soar 📱

Narratives: Assets that were named as securities in various SEC filings might have been oversold, especially post the XRP ruling. Tread carefully.

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WHAT MATTERS

BlackRock: Crypto to Transcend Any Currency

Cryptorank

State of play: Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, said that crypto is an international asset and it will “transcend any one currency” in an interview with CNBC.

Prior to this statement, Fink also said that Bitcoin is “digitizing gold.”
Fink also explained that crypto “has a differentiating value versus other asset classes.”
BlackRock applied for a spot Bitcoin ETF and the SEC has formally accepted the application.

Fink argued that the existence of a spot Bitcoin ETF will reduce the costs of Bitcoin transactions, much like how "gold funds" brought down the costs of gold transactions.

He stated that the reason for BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF application is to democratize Bitcoin investing.

What’s next: BlackRock's application to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF has been added to the official docket of the SEC as part of its proposed rule change process.

BlackRock's application is on the SEC's official calendar, triggering a 21-day public comment period upon publication in the Federal Register.

Our take: Larry Fink and BlackRock are prominent figures among institutional investors. His statement could drive institutional investors’ positive sentiment toward crypto.

For builders and investors: The XRP victory against SEC, and the introduction of BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, accompanied by a string of highly optimistic remarks from Larry Fink could be the catalyst for the next bull run.

Take a peek at our referral reward at the bottom of this issue. Share this newsletter and receive our list of 100 smart crypto investors' wallet addresses 👇

PRODUCTS OF THE WEEK

Clustr, A Blockchain Data Analysis App

Clustr

A crypto portfolio risk and analytics tool. Clustr analyzes blockchain data and helps separate real project utility from fake using quantitative models. The application provides the following features:

Portfolio grading - assess which tokens drag your performance.
Actionable insights - review your portfolio and suggest improvements.
Thematic investing - discover new coins that match your interest.
Risk profile - assess the risks associated with specific tokens.
Scam prevention - flags risky or scam-suspected projects.

Other cool products:

The Collect Button, a tool to generate NFT.
Core, an integrated suite of products for crypto transactions.
Martian, a self-custodial wallet for Aptos and Sui blockchains.
DaoLens, an all-in-one community management tool.
Magic Square, a discovery and engagement platform for Web3.

CHARTS OF THE WEEK

Lens’ Falling New Profile Count

Dune Analytics - @sixdegree

State of play: Lens experienced a fourth consecutive quarter of declining new profile mint, dropping from 2,748/month in Q1 to less than 700/month in Q2 – a 75% decrease. This followed a $15M raise announced in June 2023.

The highest number of new profiles minted on Lens occurred in the first quarter of its existence, Q3 2022, with around 14,541 new profiles minted during that time.
A sudden and significant decrease in the number of new profiles minted on Lens started in December 2022 and continues to happen to this day.

Our take: Lens growth has been declining alongside the broader NFT markets. It also hasn’t been able to sustainably keep a massive amount of users on its Twitter-like dApp.

CyberConnect Surpasses 1M Sign-ups

Dune Analytics - @CyberConnecthq

State of Play: More than 1.2M users have signed up for a CyberProfile in a span of 6 months. CyberConnect saw a significant increase in growth in March this year with ~600K sign-ups.

CyberConnect introduced 35+ new social dApps at the 'Connected 2023' hackathon in March.
Over 400K CyberProfiles engage in at least one on-chain transaction per month.
A total of 41K CyberConnect users have collectively spent more than $750K on premium handles.

Our take: Platforms like CyberConnect and Lens are building decentralized social graphs for users to own their online/on-chain identity.

The key element? Whether or not a successful social-media dApp can emerge out of these platforms.

QUICK BITES

Fir Tree launches a fund focusing on distressed crypto assets.
Binance lays off 1,000+ employees.
Aave set to launch GHO, its decentralized stablecoin.
Coinbase pauses staking in 4 states.
GBTC volumes surge to a yearly high.
JPMorgan says Ripple's XRP ruling is a win for Coinbase.

MEME & NOTEWORTHY READS

Mario Gabriele’s read on stablecoins: the next financial platform.
Ouroboros Capital’s read on MKR burn investment thesis.
Luca Prosperi’s read on almanac for money innovators.

TikTok option to throw tomatoes at streamer
— Soren Iverson (@soren_iverson)
2:00 PM • Jul 16, 2023

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advic