History repeats itself, or so say analysts. To some, today’s market shares a handful of similarities to that of March 2020, a time that represents an interchangeable level of market dissuasion due to the national introduction of COVID-19. The Fear and Greed Index, a popular barometer for measuring crypto market sentiment, also returned to its March 2020 low of 8 briefly on Tuesday, signaling “extreme fear” amongst investors.
If you’re looking for a silver lining in what looks like a bad crypto flashback, Anthony Pompliano of The Pomp Letter hit the nail on the head with a tweet released earlier this week, simply stating: “Bitcoin is up 340% since March 1, 2020.” In crypto, gauging the progression of the market is all about observing patterns, and this one denotes optimism. When Bitcoin experienced the crash in March 2020, it was selling for around $8,545, and now we’re splitting hairs over dips below $25K. (Cointelegraph)
There’s a running joke that Bitcoin has died a thousand deaths, but it always comes back, and patterns like these are evidence of that fact. The circumstances surrounding the unpegging of UST over the course of last week was unprecedented, and the impression it made on new investors that are unaware of the risks of algorithmic stablecoin backing was brutal. With millions of brand new adopters entering the crypto market over the past year or so, the Fear and Greed Index is cutting sentiment from a much larger swath—and the people in it are still learning as they go.
For them, in their nascent stage of exposure to the market, crypto is still less about patterns and more about optics. This is apparent when you consider the ever-growing correlation between crypto and the S&P 500. Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities said last week, “Some investors are playing crypto like a hedge against inflation, but it’s trading like the Nasdaq’s Siamese twin." To put this in perspective, it’s like treating your iPhone like it’s only a landline. A lot of people are trading crypto like it’s just a stock, even though the two couldn’t be more dissimilar. Over time, new adopters will come to know the capabilities of crypto and how to unlock the benefits—then they’ll look to patterns, not headlines, for guidance.
In other flashback news, LimeWire is back in Web3 form and it’s better than ever (thank god). The file-sharing platform announced a revival this past March with a whole new purpose: as a music-focused NFT marketplace built on the Algorand blockchain. If you’ve ever crashed your early 2000s family Dell laptop waiting for a Limewire fileto download or been yelled at by a parent for the 500+ mp3s with wild file names hoarding hard drive space, this should come as very redemptive news for you. (Decrypt)
This week, Universal Music Group announced that Limewire will be its platform of choice for a new Web3 NFT release project. This endeavor will allow anyone signed to Universal Music Group—a list consisting of major names such as ABBA, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, The Rolling Stones, and more—to mint collectibles on the blockchain. This, along with the acquisition of Napster by Algorand, sheds some promising light on the future of music in the Web3 space. (Decrypt)
Photography also steps further into the NFT game through Getty Images. The stock photo behemoth is partnering with Candy Digital to launch NFTs on the eco-conscious Palm blockchain. Touting a collection of roughly 465 million images in its archives, Getty wants to mint never-before-seen pieces the company’s been storing for decades. Craig Peters, CEO of Getty Images, spoke about the deal:
“The fast-growing audience of NFT collectors represents significant opportunities for the company and our global photographer community,” said Peters, emphasizing that NFTs will “creatively bring these iconic and rare photographs from the last two centuries to life for people to experience and collect in a new digital format.” (Coinspeaker)
There’s a larger pattern in all of this, which is that we as a people are rethinking the way we see the innovations of our past. All of this signals an increase in possibilities. We’re at a stage in crypto’s growth where the potential is limitless, from building new projects to bringing old concepts into the future. We’re reevaluating and to an extent re-learning the methods by which we trade, listen to music, view art, and more. And if crypto can bring Limewire back to life, let me tell you, anything is possible.
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Top market movers as of May 20, 2022
- KNC Legacy (KNC) +41.3%
- Biconomy (BICO) +35.9%
- Ethereum Name Service (ENS) +32.4%
- Polymath (POLY) +18.7%
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