The NCI closed Sunday (8/7/22) 1.3% below last week’s closing. The index’s performance was influenced by ether (ETH), up 0.4%, while bitcoin (BTC) fell 2.1%. 

In the wake of the best month for crypto markets in 2022, asset prices remained mostly stable in the first week of August. Bitcoin’s 22% price gain in July has weary investors wondering if four consecutive green weekly candles represent the start of another bull market or just a lengthy bear rally. Reduced trading volumes in the back half of the week seem to substantiate this uncertainty. 

Unsurprisingly, macro conditions—especially US inflation figures and the Fed’s consequent response—are likely to be a determining factor that shapes bitcoin’s price trajectory in the remaining back half of 2022. 

Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index and Thursday’s Producer Price Index readings may shed some light on the issue and help investors gauge if inflationary pressure is in fact easing or whether the Fed will need to keep its proverbial foot firmly pressed on the rate hike pedal.

Ethereum's quiet week was also influenced by the wait-and-see approach on the macro front, but was more so a reflection of uncertainties surrounding The Merge. Ethereum’s 59% price increase in July has investors wondering to what extent the timing of The Merge has been priced in. If Ethereum developer Tim Beiko’s timeline remains accurate, the merge of a final testnet, due to occur this Thursday, will represent an important test of investor appetite.

The crypto market started the week with no clear direction, with bitcoin prices bouncing between thousand-dollar highs and lows. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s 5% price drop on Monday is likely the result of investors taking gains after July’s stellar results.

Beyond that, market volatility in the early week seemed to be driven by US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and the consequent threat of rising Sino-American tensions. Asian stock markets opened to steep declines on Tuesday morning, as Chinese officials stepped up their heated redirect before and after Pelosí’s plane touched down on the former Chinese province.

On Tuesday afternoon, social media posts about missing SOL wallet funds began to trickle out. It was later discovered that the affected addresses were all associated with Slope mobile wallet applications. According to the Solana Foundation, private key information was unintentionally leaked by the wallet developer to an application monitoring service. 

News of the hack caused the smart contract platform’s token price to drop by 10% late into Tuesday night, but the revelation that the Solana blockchain had not been compromised seemed to stem losses relatively quickly. To understand why Hashdex investors should remain unfettered by this recent event, consider reading our response to the event.

By Wednesday morning, prices were trending back up, only to come back down later in the day. On Thursday, bitcoin’s trading volume began to taper, but bitcoin prices registered another thousand-dollar bounce back up to nearly $23,500 by Friday morning. 

That upward movement was promptly interrupted by a US Bureau of Labor Statistics report that showed that job creation figures for July greatly exceeded market expectations—an indicator that suggests there is still plenty of room for hawkish Fed intervention that would cool the job market to rein in inflation. 

On Thursday, Coinbase announced a partnership with Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager. Institutional investors with accounts on both Coinbase Prime and Blackrock's Aladdin will gain access to direct exposure to digital assets.

On Friday, prices registered a partial recovery into an uneventful weekend with reduced volatility. 

 

____________________________________________________

_{This material expresses Hashdex Asset Management Ltd. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Hashdex”)'s opinion for informational purposes only and does not consider the investment objectives, financial situation or individual needs of one or a particular group of investors. We recommend consulting specialized professionals for investment decisions. Investors are advised to carefully read the prospectus or regulations before investing their funds. The information and conclusions contained in this material may be changed at any time, without prior notice. Nothing contained herein constitutes an offer, solicitation or recommendation regarding any investment management product or service. This information is not directed at or intended for distribution to or use by any person or entity located in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, availability or use would be contrary to applicable law or regulation or which would subject Hashdex to any registration or licensing requirements within such jurisdiction. No part of this material may be (i) copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form by any means or (ii) redistributed without the prior written consent of Hashdex. By receiving or reviewing this material, you agree that this material is confidential intellectual property of Hashdex and that you will not directly or indirectly copy, modify, recast, publish or redistribute this material and the information therein, in whole or in part, or otherwise make any commercial use of this material without Hashdex’s prior written consent.} 

_{Investment in any investment vehicle and cryptoassets is highly speculative and is not intended as a complete investment program. It is designed only for sophisticated persons who can bear the economic risk of the loss of their entire investment and who have limited need for liquidity in their investment. There can be no assurance that the investment vehicles will achieve its investment objective or return any capital. 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 s investment methodology or that investing any of the protocols or tokens listed in the Information may be considered “conservative,” “safe,” “risk free,” or “risk averse.”}

_{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, and Hashdex does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of such information. Hashdex 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”  “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 and its investment vehicles or the actual performance of Hashdex, its investment vehicles, 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 contained herein has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any other governmental or self-regulatory authority. No governmental authority has opined on the merits of Hashdex’s investment vehicles or the adequacy of the information contained herein.}

_{Nasdaq®, Nasdaq Crypto Index™, NCI™, Nasdaq Crypto Index Europe™ and NCIE™ are registered trademarks of Nasdaq, Inc. (which with its affiliates is referred to as the “Corporations”) and are licensed for use by Hashdex Asset Management Ltd. The Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF and Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index Europe ETP (the “Products”) have not been passed on by the Corporations as to their legality or suitability. The Products are not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by the Corporations. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCTS.}