THE PHENOM CRYPTO LETTER

GM,

Welcome to the Phenom Crypto Letter Weekly Update. We cover everything you need to know about the crypto industry this week.

Here’s what we’ve got Today:

• BTC Nashville and Trumps speech

• A video update on Kaspa

• ETH ETF Launches w/ a banner on Wallstreet

Thanks for reading!

-Will, Eric and the rest of the Phenom Ventures Team

Jump to a Section :

• Market Rundown

• Reading Corner

• Blockbuzz

• Crypto Twitter

• Memes

MARKET RUNDOWN

Overall Market Performance

The crypto market has been navigating through a mix of structural weaknesses and positive catalysts. After a tough June where the market capitalization dropped by 11.4%, we’re starting to see some recovery. Bitcoin (BTC) experienced significant volatility, largely driven by former President Trump's proposal to designate Bitcoin as a strategic asset for the US. This news caused Bitcoin to spike above $68,000 before settling around $66,776​. The hyped ETH ETF launch happened this week to a lot of fanfare. However, price action as been negligible as inflows are offset by the sell of of the Greyscale Trust.

Notable Events

1. Mt. Gox Repayments: One of the major events impacting the market was the repayment of Bitcoin to creditors of the now-defunct exchange Mt. Gox. Over $9 billion worth of Bitcoin was distributed, contributing to market volatility​

2. Ethereum ETF Launch: Ethereum (ETH) ETFs launched with a bang, amassing $1 billion in trading volume on the first day. This has been a much-anticipated event, driving interest and trading volumes, although it did not immediately lead to a significant price spike due to $341 million in outflows​

Price Action

• Bitcoin (BTC): After peaking at $68,380, BTC settled around $66,776. The market reacted to various geopolitical and economic events, maintaining a cautious yet optimistic outlook​

• Ethereum (ETH): ETH showed slight gains, currently trading around $3,488. Despite the ETF launch, the price movement has been moderate

Market Sentiment and Predictions

While June was brutal, the recent uptick in July suggests that the market might be finding its footing again. Analysts are cautiously optimistic, noting that the worst might be behind us with several positive developments on the horizon, such as the potential approval of more crypto ETFs and political support for digital assets​

Notable Events from the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville

The years biggest Bitcoin Conference was in Nashville this week and it was a pretty big deal. Here are a few of the highlights.

• Michael Saylor’s Bullish Predictions 📈 The MicroStrategy founder forecasted Bitcoin's potential to reach up to $13 million by 2045 as a bear case. His bullcase? $49 million!!

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Bold Plans 🏛️ the presidential candidate announced his intent to integrate Bitcoin into the U.S. economic strategy, including transferring 200,000 BTC to the U.S. Treasury and commit to purchasing 4million BTC if elected​. Oh yeah, he also wants to #FreeRoss💪.

• Cantor Fitzgerald's New Bitcoin Financing Division 💼 the global financial services firm launched a new division to provide leverage to Bitcoin investors, highlighting growing institutional support for crypto. This is actually huge.

• Edward Snowden’s Virtual Address 🕵️‍♂️ Snowden cautioned the crypto community about political engagements and urged independence in judgment, emphasizing the importance of discerning political promises.

• VanEck’s $2.9 Million Bitcoin Projection 💸 Investment manager VanEck predicted that Bitcoin could reach a total market capitalization of $61 trillion by 2050, potentially reaching $2.9 million per coin. Not quite as bullish as Saylor but still pretty great.

• Senator Cynthia Lummis on Crypto Regulations 🏛️ Senator Lummis criticized the SEC's regulatory approach and emphasized the Republican Party's commitment to protecting digital asset ownership

Trump Goes All in on BTC

In a landmark moment for the crypto, Donald Trump addressed the Bitcoin 2024 Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee last week. The event marked the first time a former president has spoken at a Bitcoin event, reflecting the increasing political significance of cryptocurrency. This is especially notable as over the last 4 years the government has attacked the crypto industry relentlessly. Lets dive in to what Trump had to say:

Key Points from Trump's Speech

1. Commitment to a Pro-Bitcoin Presidency 🇺🇸

   • Trump emphasized his strong support for Bitcoin and promised to foster a favorable environment for its growth if re-elected. He highlighted the potential of Bitcoin to revolutionize the financial landscape, drawing a parallel to the steel industry of the past century

2. Strategic National Bitcoin Reserve 💰

   • Trump announced plans to maintain and expand a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile. He pledged that the government would hold onto its current Bitcoin reserves and acquire more, ensuring that these assets benefit all Americans【​

3. Regulatory Framework for Cryptocurrency 📜

   • Addressing regulatory concerns, Trump outlined his vision for clear and consistent crypto regulations. He proposed the creation of a Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council to make the U.S. the global hub for cryptocurrency innovation​

4. Opposition to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) 🚫

   • Trump voiced strong opposition to CBDCs, advocating for the right to self-custody digital assets. He warned that CBDCs could threaten financial freedom and privacy, a sentiment that resonated strongly with the Bitcoin community

5. Energy Strategy for Bitcoin Mining 🔋

   • To support Bitcoin mining and AI development, Trump proposed building fossil fuel-based power plants. He aims to ensure the U.S. has the lowest energy costs globally by the end of his term if re-elected

Trump's speech was well-received, drawing significant attention and praise from the crypto community. The conference itself saw other notable figures and discussions, including Michael Saylor’s bullish predictions for Bitcoin and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s ambitious plans for integrating Bitcoin into U.S. economic policy​. Overall, crypto has become a hot political topic. After years of attempted destruction by the current administration (looking at you Gary Gensler and Liz Warren) it appears the tide has turned in favor of crypto. If institutional money wasn’t already going to send us to the moon I can’t imagine the price action when nation states have an arms race to buy up BTC for national reserves.

Here is a video of the speech along with timestamps from @balaji. I’d recommend taking the time to watch.

READING CORNER

A collection of longer form content we are consuming this week 

Could you live off $1m in BTC? @dotkrueger of Power Law fame thinks so. Here is a spreadsheet breaking it down

Update on Kaspa. This was a coin we recommended to Premium members earlier this year with entry price between $0.5-$0.10.

An interesting thread on potential logistical issues w/ the FED buying BTC as a reserve

BLOCKBUZZ

Quick Hitters from the week

• Goldman Sachs CEO Backs Bitcoin as a Store of Value: David Solomon suggests Bitcoin could serve as a reliable store of value.

• MakerDAO Targets $100 Billion Stablecoin Ambition: Despite delays due to AI integration, MakerDAO aims to achieve a $100 billion stablecoin goal.

• Solana's Stellar Growth: Hits record highs with $5.65B in Total Value Locked (TVL), 42% DEX volume, and surpasses Ethereum in 24-hour fees.

• Bitwise Promotes Ethereum ETF on NYSE Facade: Unveils a banner on the NYSE building to highlight its spot Ethereum ETF.

• Elon Musk’s X Drops Bitcoin and MAGA Emojis: Removes cryptocurrency and political emojis from hashtags, stepping back from a previous strategy to boost brand adoption.

• Circle Preps for IPO with $5 Billion Valuation: Sources indicate Circle, the issuer of USDC, is trading at a $5 billion valuation ahead of its planned IPO, down from a $9 billion valuation during its previous SPAC attempt.

• California DMV Digitizes Car Titles on Avalanche: Makes history by transferring 42 million car titles onto the Avalanche blockchain.

• Compound DAO Faces Governance Attack: COMP price drops 6.7% following a whale-driven governance proposal that allocates $24 million in COMP to a yield-bearing protocol called goldCOMP.

THE TWITTERVERSE

A collection of the most interesting stuff on Crypto Twitter this week

Tons of alpha in this thread

Don’t fuck it up

Lot of noise recently about ETH ETF and the outflows from the Greyscale Trust. Price action is looking very similar to BTC after ETF approval earlier this year.

WAGMI

For the (crypto) Culture

SAAAAMMMEE

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