Venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) recently revealed its plans to expand to London, marking the firm’s first international branch. Citing the UK government’s openness to fostering policies that support startups and decentralization, a16z aims to capitalize on investment opportunities in the UK and Europe, particularly in the crypto and startup ecosystems. Several UK-based companies have already benefited from a16z’s investments, including a recent $43-million Series A funding round into blockchain-based computing provider Gensyn.
Simultaneously, open interest in Binance‘s BNB token continues to surge, reaching 1.57 million BNB on Monday, currently worth around $360 million. This increase occurred even after the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance on June 5. Open interest has risen by nearly 27% since then, while BNB’s market value has fallen from $300 to $234, the lowest it has been since December. Consequently, some traders infer that the uptick in open interest, combined with a declining price, indicates a surge in short positions or bearish bets, potentially confirming a downtrend.
In other crypto market news, a key metric monitoring liquidity sharply plunged over the weekend, resulting in weakened order books that could intensify price fluctuations. Hyblock Capital, a crypto research company, reported a 20% drop in their global bid and ask indicator across spot markets on Saturday. This decline coincided with alternative cryptocurrencies like SOL, MATIC, and DOGE experiencing substantial downturns amid rumors of a fund liquidating its coin holdings. According to Joe McCann, CIO of Assymetric, a crypto hedge fund, diminished resting bid and ask order volumes may be attributed to some market makers withdrawing during the altcoin crash.
Furthermore, the seven-day ETH call-put skew, which measures the difference between prices for bullish call options and bearish put options tied to Ethereum’s native token, dipped to -9% over the weekend. This metric represents the most potent bias for puts since mid-March.
It is essential to recognize that while decentralized technologies and cryptocurrencies hold vast potential for innovation and even disruption across various industries, they are not without inherent risks. Market volatility and regulatory uncertainty continue to pose significant challenges for investors and startups operating in the space. However, as venture capital firms like a16z expand their global presence and governments strive to create policies fostering decentralized technology growth, there is reason to remain optimistic about the future of blockchain and the broader crypto ecosystem.
Source: Coindesk
