Weekly Digest: Chung’s Picks of the Week

Battle for the metaverse heats up as the crypto market is finding its direction

Welcome to the Weekly Crypto Roundup

This weekly column will provide some market insights into news that matters, on-chain metrics and projects that are grabbing attention in the crypto space. At no point should our readers regard this as investment advice. For transparency, the writer has disclosed his main investments. 

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Weekly Recap

* Taproot upgrade is successfully implemented on the Bitcoin Lightning Network to enhance data efficiency and improve privacy.

* Morgan Stanley gave their vote of confidence to projects building on the metaverse theme as the next big investment opportunity.

* Binance places an advertisement on Financial Times advocating ‘10 Fundamental Rights for Crypto Users’.  

* Terraform Labs faces the wrath of the US Securities and Exchange Commission on its Mirror Protocol. 

* Staples Centre in Los Angeles is renamed as ‘Crypto.com Arena’.

* Avalanche ($AVAX) lists on Binance.Us and sparked a rally that landed the layer-1 protocol amongst the Top 10 coins in the CoinMarketCap.

* The Winklevoss twins, through Gemini, join the race to capture the Metaverse market, posing as a direct competition to Meta, formerly known as Facebook. 

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Market Sentiment

* The market remains neutral as no clear indication has emerged on the general direction of Bitcoin. Plan B’s prediction of a $98k Bitcoin by end of November is still in play as he reiterates his prediction in a tweet on Nov 14.

* The race for Layer 1 Blockchain Protocol heats up as Avalanche ($AVAX) jumps into Top 10 in market capitalization. High gas fees continue to be a cause for concern for the Ethereum Network. 

* The market continues to see high leverage from market traders which usually results in violent shake-outs.  

* Hodlers continue to buy up Bitcoin in exchanges suggesting that long term holders are bullish on Bitcoin’s prospect. 

* Funding rate remains positive as most traders are still holding their long positions suggesting that the recent dip has not shaken out most leveraged traders. 

* Most exchanges such as FTX and Binance that allow for leveraged trading have reduced their leverage ratio, and this is probably the reason why the recent dip has not liquidated most long positions.  

* Inflation continues to be a major concern as purchasing power dips and investors seeking to protect their wealth are finding crypto assets as an alternative. 

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Coins to Watch 

* The Metaverse theme will continue to capture the market’s attention. Projects that are innovative and fit within the metaverse narrative will likely see more positive price action. Projects such as DeRace ($DERC), Render Token ($RNDR), The Sandbox ($SAND) and Decentraland ($MANA) will capture a fair share of the market exuberance in the Metaverse theme. 

* Bitcoin ($BTC) will see a positive price action if the ‘supply shock’ hits the Bitcoin market as investors continue to buy up Bitcoins on exchange.

* The high Ethereum gas fees continues to be a major concern for projects that are building on the Ethereum network. Alternatives such as Solana ($SOL), Binance Smart Chain ($BNB), Avalanche ($AVAX) and other layer-1 platforms will continue to have a major role to play in the smart contract ecosystem. 

Market Overview

PlanB’s S2F price prediction model remains as the most accurate model. His prediction of a $98k Bitcoin by the end of November is drawing a lot of attention and might be a self fulfilling prophecy. In the past, his predictions of monthly price close has been eerily accurate. Some investors are standing by the sideline for clearer indication before participating. The market remains jittery as regulators are still not unveiling the crypto framework that is long overdue. 

Two important factors that will provide the jet fuel for the crypto market to surpass its previous high is the approval of a spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) and a crypto friendly regulatory framework.  

Source : bsc.news