OVERVIEW

Crash-kari & Conflict Couldn’t Crash Crypto 💣

Sometimes, talking heads from the Fed say something, and the markets rip or dip. Today, Minneapolis Fed. Pres. Crashikari said that we could see zero rate cuts this year. 😱

Then, there were reports about Iran readying itself to hit Israel. That news spooked everyone across asset classes, so we’ll quickly look at that, too.

Besides the macro stuff, today’s Litepaper covers a SushiSwap scandal, a Ripple stablecoin, Silk Road BTC now on Coinbase, and Ethereum topping the NFT charts.

Before we dive in, here’s today’s crypto market heatmap:  

And here’s a look at crypto’s total and altcoin market cap YTD:

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Kashkari Comments Crush Stonks 🙅

Oof. Look at the daily chart of the $SPY below: 🔦

The news on why there’s a big drop is mixed. Initially, the thought was from comments by the Minneapolis Fed. Pres. Neil Kashkari that zero rate cuts in 2024 are possible.

But around the same time, oil spiked higher towards $90, and the Japanese Yen spiked, and things just went crazy. The $SPY, which gapped up this morning 4.11 points (+0.79%), retraced the entirety of that move and kept pushing lower. The SPY dropped -10.45 (-2.00%) from open to close.

Crypto appeared unfazed as $BTC, and the broader crypto market held steady, but around 1600 EST, some selling pressure finally arrived.

Bitcoin was up +4% for the day but has lost some of those gains and is presently at +3%. Similarly, $ETH was up +3.60% but is now only +0.76% higher. In a nutshell, the crypto market is holding up very well compared to everything else.

With tomorrow’s payroll data, the Yen at near-collapse levels, and a possible war in the Middle East, it’s doubtful many people will be comfortable holding onto risk going into the weekend. Be careful out there. 🛑

NEWS
Stinks Like Fish 📰

Those awesome folks at Protos are calling out some shenanigans with a big player in the DeFi space. 🍣

A controversial governance proposal within the SushiSwap ($SUSHI) community aims to significantly alter the project's structure by shifting assets from the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) treasury to a newly established Sushi Labs.

This shift would reroute future airdrops directly to Sushi Labs and centralize operational responsibilities for core product development under this new entity. Critics argue that such a move could undermine the DAO's role and concentrate power among a select few within the team.

The proposal's ambiguity, highlighted by discrepancies in the reported treasury assets, has raised eyebrows. For instance, it references $ETH amounts that don't match the treasury's public wallet contents.

Following a series of governance changes that restricted proposal creation to core team members and removed certain voting mechanisms, the SushiSwap community faces a pivotal moment. The proposed dismantling of the DAO structure has sparked intense debate, with a significant majority voting against the proposal in its current state. 🗳️

NEWS
On-Chain Analytics From Seizure 🚔

The US government recently transferred $131 million in Bitcoin to Coinbase ($COIN). 🔄

This move involved 2,000 $BTC, traced back to a haul confiscated from James Zhong, who admitted to wire fraud connected to the Silk Road darknet operations. While the government frequently acquires Bitcoin through criminal seizures, it retains a massive portfolio of about 213,246 BTC, alongside a smaller cache of Ethereum ($ETH). 📈

STOCKTWITS CONTENT
New “Trends With Friends” 🍿

Stocktwits co-founder Howard Lindzon chops it up with pals JC Parets and Phil Pearlman every Thursday on "Trends With Friends."

Watch the latest on YouTube and Spotify, and subscribe to catch each episode when it goes live!

NEWS
Ripple Unveils Plan for New Stablecoin 🪙

Ripple Labs is gearing up to disrupt the $150 billion stablecoin market with a US dollar-pegged stablecoin. 🚀

Their approach includes backing the stablecoin with US dollar deposits and short-term US Treasury bills, ensuring transparency through third-party audits. As the stablecoin market's potential grows, Ripple's move signifies a major step forward, promising to enhance liquidity and opportunities within the $XRP Ledger (XRPL) community.

Initially launching on XRPL and Ethereum ($ETH), Ripple aims to broaden the stablecoin's reach across multiple ecosystems, driving institutional and DeFi adoption. 🌐

NEWS
Ethereum Tops NFT Sales 👨‍🎨

Ethereum ($ETH) has once again proven its dominance in the NFT marketplace, accumulating over $10 million in sales and marking a notable increase in transactions. 🖼️

Ethereum's NFT sales surge is largely driven by the popularity of specific collections, such as Pandora, which saw a significant rise in interest. Moreover, Ethereum's leadership in all-time NFT sales further cements its position at the forefront of the NFT space.

In contrast, Bitcoin ($BTC), Solana ($SOL) and Polygon ($MATIC), have all suffered downturns. 🚀

STOCKTWITS “CHART ART”
$SPY Losses Spike As Trend Channel Breaks 😨

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Links That Don’t Suck 🔗

👮 Ripple exec slams SEC’s ‘misguided war on crypto,’ demands accountability

😱 Ethereum layer-2 market cap to reach US$1 trillion by 2030, VanEck predicts

🤯 Google claims its crypto scam lawsuit is ‘first of its kind’

👩‍⚖️ Legal experts explain why Sam Bankman-Fried’s 25-year prison sentence is fair

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