Crypto Macro Brief Q2 2023: The Institutions Are Coming!

So it's time for another crypto
market brief. Today we're going to be talking about
Are institutions Max bidding Bitcoin
and when are we going to the moon? What are the chances of a bitcoin spot
ETF being approved? How bullish is the market? The rundown on the macro price Predictors at feeding you hope Yam
if the ETF gets the green light. So my name is Trevor
with CMC and let's dive in. So first of all, are institutions
finally max bidding crypto? Well, just when it looked like
the fund was going to get better Of the Bulls,
crypto was thrown in unexpected lifeline. Not all heroes wear capes. Some actually wear suits. Nothing suits me like a suit. The BlackRock Bitcoin spot
ETF application is a big deal, But the real news was
how it seemed to trigger An avalanche of institutional interest
in the crypto industry. So let's see, we have the Deutsche Bank
applying for a crypto custody license. And yes, that's the same at Deutsche Bank That described Bitcoin as an asset
based on wishful thinking. In 2021, we have a crypto exchange backed
by Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities,
which finally went live And they didn't exactly hit refresh
on the top cryptocurrencies. Since the exchange
only offers bitcoin ether, Litecoin And bitcoin cash trading thus far,
but it's backed by some big fish. Next, we also have MasterCard,
which filed a trademark application To develop a crypto software,
which is probably nothing. And then we have Invesco, Which is another institutional
investment company Which reapplied for a Bitcoin at Spot
ETF, LLC. They have only $1.4 Trillion in assets under management
compared to BlackRock's $10 trillion. But hey, any bit counts. Then we have Valkyrie filing for a spot

ETF as well,
which the acronym is $BRRR Legends. Next, we have Santander
which is Spain's largest bank, And they showed interest in the Lightning
Network. Again, probably nothing. And then we have BlackRock, Fidelity
and Vanguard with increased exposure In MSTR and Michael Saylor,
of course, loves to hear it. And then we have the BTC share price, which surged after
news of the spot application broke. Oh, and crypto
native asset managers hopped on the spot ETF bandwagon because you might as well
if BlackRock does. And yes, all of that happened in the span
of a few days except for the MSTR piece. So the Q1 macro brief closed
with the following conclusion macro In 2023 will set the tone up for crypto's
medium term price developments. And that seems more true than ever. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Can the spot ETF really
get the thumbs up from the FCC? So let's talk about the chance
of a Bitcoin. The spot ETF have been approved so far. Gary Gensler has been steadfast
in his agency's Position on Bitcoin spot ETFs,
and they are a no no. But why is this even important
and why could this be your last chance To make him? Well, where there is a crypto narrative, There's a way for crypto
to go to the moon. the moon. So in
other words, yes, it would be a big deal If this actually got approved
and Bitcoin would get the BlackRock stamp Of approval for other institutions in
any one of rank and also file and trade. Five. But can BlackRock's amazing
575-1 ETF approvals overcome The winless Bitcoin spot ETF streak? The asset management firm
seems to be confident that it can do this With one weird trick and the SEC hates it
to give you a bitcoin spot. ETF application approved a surveillance
sharing agreement between NASDAQ And an approved exchange.

You see, the SEC has been slapping down applications
for fear of price manipulation. And since it does not consider
any significant exchange legit, The answer to all applications
so far has been no. Can they get it done this time? Then? Opinions on crypto Twitter defer. Noelle Acheson, former Head of Research
at CoinDesk, thinks it's more of a Political message to the Democratic Party,
which BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink is affiliated with to go easy
on the whole banning crypto trip. Justin Slaughter,
policy director at Paradigm, disagrees. And his take is that
BlackRock has the influence and the timing To get it approved as the grayscale
versus SEC lawsuit may end with a defeat For the SEC and also open the door
for a crypto native spot ETF to be first. And then Nic Carter agreed
in his suggestion is that the SEC may In fact have given BlackRock a silent
nod of approval to get first in line. So the entire narrative shows institutions
are more bullish than they let on. Now surely this was really bullish
for Bitcoin, wasn't it? So how did the market react? Well, not much of a cliffhanger here. Yes, Bitcoin teleported
back to over $30,000 on the tsunami of Hopefully good news. Even a look under the hood suggests that
this is good for our favorite orange coin. So the rally is being driven
by spot buying instead of a short squeeze. And who's been violently
slamming the long button on exchanges? Well,
it turns out it's been the Americans. And finally, good sign that Stablecoin
inflow is finally turning positive And has recorded its first two week uptick
actually since February. So is it all good again? Bull market
here we come to the moon right now. So let's talk about the macro situation
in Q2 of 2023. So the Fed recently changed course
and stopped hiking rates. Enter the new macro main character,
the hawkish pause. Is this, you ask? Well, when the Fed tries to pause
rate hikes but doesn't want everyone

Diving in headfirst into JPEGs and frog
coin trading, they cloak their decision With a lot of spooky talk about how
that's only a temporary breather. To the Fed's credit, It has been doing exactly
what it has been telegraphing it would do. So no reason to doubt a rate
hike is coming in July, right? Well, the markets don't see it that way,
though, with inflation coming down. For now,
some commentators on Twitter wonder Whether the bear market in equities
is actually a thing of the past. In case you're not following equities, They've been printing
for the last few weeks, Which is not the kind of decoupling crypto
investors want to see. Time for crypto to catch up now. Well, overall,
the theme is that it's a game of chicken Between the Fed in the market and
at the moment it seems the Fed is winning. So that would be a bearish catalyst
for the crypto market. How about the long term though? Well, here's the deal
leading up to the halving next year, You should not expect any magic
from the crypto markets due to volatility, Volume
and realized value and multi-year lows. Glassnode. Read the on chain tealeaves and the market
is likely in an accumulation phase Marked by boredom
and investor disinterest. As Bitcoin magazine points out, 2018
also saw a rally and more sideways Crab and the market can stay boring longer
than you can stay disciplined. With that being said,
let's listen to some crypto Twitter opium On where an ETF approval
could take prices in the really long run. So how about a cycle of
institutional money buying our bags Followed by government In any case, Bitcoin is likely going to enter
the political mainstream really soon. Here's another dose of opium
by Adam Cochran who suggests Even a sprinkle of institutional control
to boomer pension money Could cause a 15 X for crypto prices. If it does happen, though,
the final approval would be in eight Months.

Crypto Twitter isn't expecting prices
to teleport immediately. There still seems to be some bear
market PTSD at play, whatever the outcome. Crypto isn't going away
anytime soon and the show must go on.