Good morning to all crypto enthusiasts. As Asia trading begins, bitcoin maintains its position above the $30,000 threshold despite a minor drop, while Ether, on the other hand, trades lower. With bitcoin holding steady at $30,323 and Ether trading at $1,860, many are paying close attention to the upcoming quarterly options expiry.
Shaun Fernando, Chief Risk Officer at Deribit, informed CoinDesk that bitcoin’s “max pain” point is currently at $26,000. This means that option holders will experience the most financial loss at this point while option sellers may profit the most. However, this could alleviate some of the downward pricing pressure after the options expiry. Fernando also mentioned that Ether has seen significant institutional selling activity, yet its implied volatility remains lower than that of bitcoin.
As we approach the expiration of the options, all eyes are on Friday. However, there seems to be a shift in focus for investors in the technology world. Over the weekend, reports emerged that one of China’s first crypto publications, 8btc, is pivoting away from covering the crypto space and focusing on AI and the metaverse instead. Additionally, Venture Capital funding for crypto is down 80% in the first quarter of 2023, from $12.3 billion to $2.4 billion, with AI startups raising $1.6 billion this quarter.
Although AI has generated substantial hype, it still has a long way to go. The current state of AI technology seems to be caught between high expectations and the reality of slow progress and expensive implementations. This is a striking similarity to the hype cycles of blockchain and enterprise blockchain. Despite prior disappointments with blockchain technology, stakeholders have yet to learn their lesson and continue to embrace new technological advancements.
In other news, Robinhood is ending support for Polygon, Cardano, and Solana, while a U.S. Judge rejects Binance.US’s complaint over an SEC press release. Amid the shifting landscape, experts such as Hayden Adams, CEO of Uniswap Labs, believe that DeFi is “here to stay,” although the U.S. may be lagging in crypto regulation.
Furthermore, the FTX bankruptcy team revealed that the exchange owed customers $8.7 billion. Lastly, financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and Bank for International Settlements seem to be adopting a new buzzword in the crypto space – tokenization.
In conclusion, as the crypto market faces various challenges and as investors shift their focus to AI technologies, the upcoming quarterly options expiry keeps the attention of many traders and enthusiasts. With bitcoin maintaining its position above $30,000 and Ether trading lower, it remains to be seen how this market will develop in the near future.
Source: Coindesk
