Note to âfreeâ subscribers: Weâll be building, and researching, and evangelizing throughout this bear market, regardless of how long it lasts.
But we need your help to do it.
Next week will be the last week you can subscribe to Unqualified Opinions at the rate of $15/month or $100/year. After that, weâll be doubling fiat prices, and paywalling 80% of our newsletter content to make it more sustainable and keep it uncorrupted by ads. Benefits to subscribing:
Daily insights and synthesis from a team thatâs built through multiple crypto bear markets. Never miss a trend or big story.
The warm and fuzzy feeling of paying for a service you like, when you know itâs getting reinvested in making crypto more transparent and ethical.
Preferred access to our invite-only meet-ups and monthly analyst calls.
Shout-outs in this newsletter (social signaling!) when you give the gift of a subscription this holiday season.
Messariâs Weekend Reads
Itâs Friday, which means weâre keeping things light and teeing up our weekend reads and listens.
This week, Katherine sits down with Messariâs own Dan McArdle to talk about the recent downturn in crypto markets. Dan shared his thoughts on what is now the fourth "crypto recession" for him, and where he thinks things might head in the short to medium term. (11 min for your commute home)
Listen and subscribe to all of our podcastsâ on Apple Podcasts here, Spotify here, and Google play here.
đ Messariâs weekend reads:
Things Fall Apart - Markets - Ben Hunt
Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, and The Quest to Kill eBay - Steve Yegge
On the User Base of Decentralized Exchanges - Danning Sui
Trust Minimized Governance Tokens - Aragon
Debt: The First 5,000 Years - David Graeber
An Honest Explanation of Price, Hashrate & Bitcoin Mining Network Dynamics - Christopher Bendiksen
Behind MimbleWimble - The head scratching tech that has the crypto industry abuzz - Jordan Clifford
Framework For Understanding Blockchain's Next Chapter: Hybrid Financial Instruments - Caitlin Long
Have a good weekend, yâall.
- The Messari Team
P.S. Share. Subscribe. Tweet at Messari for feedback, comments, or questions.
News & Analyses
Messari Compression Algorithm
Content and thoughts from around the web as summarized by the Messari team.
đą [Analysis] Corrections and recoveries - Boris Hristov
While there is a good chance Bitcoin recovers from its current low it will be harder than in previous cycles according to Boris Hristov. The bear market between 2013 and 2015 saw markets fall 84% and a new high reached only once trading volumes rebounded. In this market, it may take a 4x growth in volumes to reach previous highs, compared to around 1.4x for the smaller previous drops. It could require $50 billion of net cash inflows to reach $20,000 once again, something that would almost certainly require meaningful institutional capital participation. Worth noting Bitcoin is the only cryptoasset that has historically recovered from multiple winters. (Messari | Source)
đ»[Analysis] Why 90% of Crypto Funds will fail - David Nage
Even traditional hedge funds have short life spans and are prone to failure. According to Nage, crypto funds are no different. The majority of funds in the space are small, with $50 million or less in assets, meaning losses impact the fees of those funds much more than larger alternatives. Managing risk can be difficult as professional tools are only starting to reach the space, and many managers may have not yet adapted to markets that do not behave like traditional ones. Combine all that with the more aggressive capital allocation strategies of crypto funds, and a relatively small number of liquid investments, and youâve got serious portfolio concentration risks as well. While 90% of funds may fail, good managers will survive, and Nage recommends managers focus on transparency and communication with LPs to help create a lasting fund. (Messari | Source)
Quick Bits (Don't read that, I read it for you)
Choke Points (Exchange News)
đ Huobi Group, a Singapore-based crypto exchange, launched the Huobi Derivative Market exchange Tuesday. Named the Huobi DM, the new offering allows users will now be able to buy or sell cryptocurrencies at fixed prices on a set date. (Messari | Source)
â Fidelity Investments is looking to expand its institutional crypto asset platform to include trading services for the top five to seven cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Startup Signals (ICOs, Cryptos, and Startups)
đ° Flipside Crypto received $4.5 million from investors including Coinbase Ventures, DCG, True Ventures, and Castle Island Ventures. The company tracks network and other metrics to determine how various crypto assets are evolving and being used. (Messari | Source)
đ The Gnosis Safe is now live on the Ethereum mainnet. The Gnosis Safe is a multi-signature wallet that allows users to control who has access and from where, removing the single point of failure that results from a traditional wallet that is an externally owned account. (Messari | Source)
The Powers That Be (Legal/Reg/Policy)
â A federal judge has denied a preliminary injunction filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which alleged violation of securities law by crypto startup Blockvest. The judge ruled that the SEC had not proven that Blockvest violated federal securities laws. (Messari | Source)
đ€Ź Pro boxer Floyd Mayweather and music producer DJ Khaled have agreed to pay fines as part of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The settlement stems from the promotion of the Centra ICO in 2017. (Messari | Source)
đČđŸ Malaysian finance minister Lim Guan Eng has revealed that a new set of comprehensive regulations guiding the activities of crypto exchanges and ICOs will come into effect in Q1 2019. (Messari | Source)
Did I miss something?
Send me the link, your twitter handle and your best imitation compression algorithm write up. If I like it, Iâll include your bit next issue (with attribution).
Podcast Recap
đ§ ICYMI on the Messari podcast, Katherine sits down with MyCryptoâs Taylor Monahan to talk product design. Taylor highlights the vast difference between intentions and outcome in product design vs. user experience and shares some of her experiences in building tools for crypto users. (19 min for your lunch break)
BONUS: Qiao swung by Jeffrey Tongâs âSmartest Contractâ podcast to chat all things crypto, and provide some updates on what weâre working on at Messari.
Listen and subscribe to all of our podcastsâ on Apple Podcasts here, Spotify here, and Google play here.
Shameless Plugs
We want your feedback!
We know Messari can feel like a couple different products right now, and we're working to unify our features into one overarching whole. To that end, Weâve made a Trello board to take in any and all of the feedback you have for us! Have at it đ
We're Hiring:
We need data engineers who want to bring transparency to crypto!
Join a fast growing team in NYC; work with crypto OGs, and former Bloomberg/Palantir engineers; & access a network that sets you up for the rest of your career. Apply here!
Join Our Community:
If you are interested in helping us crowdsource token project details, or want to join our community to share your expertise, weâd love to have you on board! Take a second to fill out an application and we will get back to you soon.
Going forward, weâll be capping new members at 15 each week to keep things running smoothly. If you havenât heard back, you are probably in the queue.
Like what you read? Share it! Hate what you read? Let me know @MessariCrypto.