The Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI) closed Sunday (10/16/22) 2.5% below last week’s closing. The index’s neutral performance was influenced by ether (ETH), down 3.2%, while bitcoin (BTC) fell 1.9%.

Coming out of two consecutive weeks of stable prices, investors began the work week bracing for a US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report due to be released on Thursday.

Crypto asset prices remained mostly unchanged throughout the early week. Digital assets trended down in unison with traditional markets on low trading volume during Columbus Day and traded flat on Tuesday. The FOMC’s September meeting minutes were released on Wednesday, but brought no new details about the Fed’s hawkish outlook.

Despite the largely uneventful start to the week, the release of another CPI reading on Thursday managed to squeeze a week’s worth of volatility into a 12-hour period. 

The CPI report showed prices rose 0.4% in September (expected: 0.3%), taking headline inflation to 8.4% on a 12-month basis. Core inflation, a measure which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.6% in September, taking the year-over-year measure to 6.6%, a 40-year high.

Core inflation results sent both crypto and equity markets on a roller coaster ride. BTC sank from around $19,000 to just under $18,200, while ETH dropped from $1,270 to just below $1,200 as trading volume swelled. 

Once crypto prices bottomed, they quickly shot back up following the lead of traditional markets. The S&P 500 registered its biggest intraday surge since January with a 194 point bounce to close 2.6% higher en route to breaking a six-day losing streak. 

Right around midday, BTC registered its weekly high of $19,872, a couple hours in advance of ETH’s weekly high of $1,336, both on unusually high volume. 

While analysts were unable to point out a clear driver that could explain the surprising bounceback from BTC’s four-month low, the likely culprit—for traditional and crypto markets alike—was the unwinding of short trades placed by investors expecting negative results.

In any case, September’s CPI report doesn’t seem to have affected investor’s medium- and long-term outlook for digital asset prices, as evidenced by Friday’s decline back to pre-CPI levels. 

From Friday night to Sunday afternoon, BTC prices drew a straight line across charts before registering a slight uptick to close the week at $19,138. ETH registered modest losses during the same period, before recovering in the week’s final hours to close out at $1,283. 

 

Looking Ahead

 

While traditional markets continue to monitor corporate results during earnings season, this week’s economic calendar will be headlined by the release of the Fed’s Beige Book (Wednesday) and US jobless claims (Thursday). Both could shed more light on the effects of the current rate hike cycle on the world’s largest economy. Neither is likely to alter November’s monetary policy decision, currently showing a 99.45% probability of a 75 bp hike, according to the CME’s Fedwatch tool.

 

Other News

 

Mastercard forms partnership to bring crypto to traditional banks

 

Mastercard has announced (10/17) it will be partnering with Paxos, a crypto infrastructure provider already used by PayPal, to help banks offer crypto trading. The payment processor will handle regulatory compliance and security, two obstacles banks often cite when explaining their hesitancy to offer crypto investments to their clients. Mastercard believes many investors are interested in crypto but are intimidated by the prospect of investing through crypto exchanges, citing a survey that showed that 60% of respondents would rather invest through their current financial institution. 

 

Google reveals plan to accept crypto payments for cloud services

 

Google announced (10/17) it will start accepting payments in crypto for its cloud services next year during its Google’s Cloud Next conference. Crypto payments will be made possible through a partnership with Coinbase. The tech giant hopes their latest crypto project will make “building faster and easier” for customers involved in the nascent Web3 industry.

 

_______________________________________

_{The information contained herein (“Information”) may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part, in any format, without the express written approval of Hashdex Asset Management Ltd. (“Hashdex”) and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“Hashdex Group”). By accepting this document, you acknowledge and agree that all of the Information contained in this document is proprietary to Hashdex Group. While not explicitly referenced within this piece, Hashdex Group manages the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF, Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF, Hashdex Nasdaq Bitcoin ETF, Hashdex DeFi Index Fund, Hashdex Smart Contract Platforms Index ETF and other investment vehicles focused on digital assets (collectively the “Fund” and each a “Fund”) which invests in digital tokens. The Information is not an offer to buy or sell, nor is it a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, interests in the Funds or any advisory services or any other security or to participate in any advisory services or trading strategy. If any offer and sale of securities is made, it will be pursuant to the confidential offering memorandum of the Fund (the Offering Memorandum). Any decision to make an investment in the Fund should be made after reviewing such Offering Memorandum, conducting such investigations as the investor deems necessary and consulting the investor’s own investment, legal, accounting and tax advisors in order to make an independent determination of the suitability and consequences of an investment.}

 _{Each Fund seeks to track a relevant index. The performance of each Fund will vary from the performance of the relevant index that it seeks to track. The Information is being provided to you solely for discussion purposes and may not be used or relied on for any purpose (including, without limitation, as legal, tax or investment advice) without the express written approval of Hashdex Group. Certain statements reflect Hashdex Group’s views, estimates, opinions or predictions (which may be based on proprietary models and assumptions, including, in particular, Hashdex Group’s views on the current and future market for digital assets), and there is no guarantee that these views, estimates, opinions or predictions are currently accurate or that they will be ultimately realized. To the extent these assumptions or models are not correct or circumstances change, the actual performance of Hashdex Group and the Funds may vary substantially from, and be less than, the estimated performance. None of Hashdex Group, the Funds nor any of their respective affiliates, shareholders, partners, members, directors, officers, management, employees or representatives makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of any of the Information or any other information (whether communicated in written or oral form) transmitted or made available to you.} 

_{Each of the aforementioned parties expressly disclaims any and all liability relating to or resulting from the use of the Information or such other information. Except where otherwise indicated, the Information is based on matters as they exist as of the date of preparation and not as of any future date and will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available, or circumstances existing or changes occurring after the date hereof. Investing in financial markets, the Funds and digital assets, including Bitcoin, DeFi tokens, and Ethereum, involves a substantial degree of risk. There can be no assurance that the investment objectives described herein will be achieved. Any investment in the Funds may result in a loss of the entire amount invested. Investment losses may occur, and investors could lose some or all of their investment. No guarantee or representation is made that Hashdex’s investment strategy, including, without limitation, its business and investment objectives, diversification strategies or risk monitoring goals, will be successful, and investment results may vary substantially over time. Nothing herein is intended to imply that the Hashdex Group’s investment methodology or that investing any of the protocols or tokens listed in the Information or the Funds may be considered “conservative,” “safe,” “risk free,” or “risk averse.” Neither historical returns nor economic, market or other performance is an indication of future results. Certain information contained herein (including financial information) has been obtained from published and non-published sources. Such information has not been independently verified by Hashdex Group, and Hashdex Group does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of such information. Hashdex Group does not provide tax, accounting or legal advice. Certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue” or “believe” (or the negatives thereof) or other variations thereof. Due to various risks and uncertainties, including those discussed above, actual events or results, the ultimate business or activities of Hashdex Group or the Funds or the actual performance of Hashdex Group, the Funds, or digital tokens may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. As a result, investors should not rely on such forward- looking statements in making their investment decisions. None of the Information has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any securities administrator under any state securities laws or any other governmental or self-regulatory authority. No governmental authority has opined on the merits of the offering of any securities by the Funds or Hashdex, or the adequacy of the information contained herein.}