Stormy Weather - March Market Report

Stefan Erben | CryptoExplorer Author

Posted On Mar 29, 2023 |

In this report, we will take a look at the current market and the impact on our shared portfolio.

Welcome to the monthly market report for March 2023. This report provides an overview of the major events and developments in the crypto & finance markets over the past month. This month, the market has been marked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and its impact on the stablecoin market, as well as ongoing regulatory scrutiny of crypto exchanges such as Coinbase. The report also includes updates on portfolio performance and a forecast for what to expect in the coming month.

Current Situation

Bitcoin Price

In March, we saw a quick market decline to $19,600, followed by a real rise to $28,800. The crypto market is not for the faint of heart.

FED & it’s Balance Sheet

All of the FED's quantitative easing efforts in recent months, except that now in recent days more than 2 / 3 of the money supply has been added back to the balance sheet.

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank shares have lost massive value and credit default swaps (CDS) have reached a new 4-year high!

And what suits better then a good meme (it’s ameme guys - we know its not that easy) 😄

So the situation in the financial system is quite tense, but cryptocurrencies are still performing well under these conditions. But there was more in the last month (crypto is never boring, haha).

What happened this month

• The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB): The bank was shut down by California’s financial watchdog on March 10 after announcing a significant sale of assets and stocks aimed at raising additional capital. The bank held over $5 billion in funds from major venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.
• USDC depegs: USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle confirmed that $3.3 billion of its $40 billion USDC reserves remain at Silicon Valley Bank, triggering a sell-off that resulted in the stablecoin falling below $1. The stablecoin ecosystem felt an immediate impact as USDC depegged from the U.S. dollar, with major stablecoins depegging from the U.S. dollar as a consequence.
• FED’s Bank Term Funding Program: To remedy these issues in the short term, liquidity injections have been provided to banks like SVB. The FED decided to start the "Bank Term Funding Program" to avoid a banking crisis. Basically, the FED will bail out all banks, not only the ones having troubles, but also all the banks that might have troubles during the next year. For now it's "only" $25B, but the reason is clear: The FED has raised interest rates so fast that something in the financial system is damaged and must now row back.
• SEC targets Coinbase: Crypto exchange Coinbase received a Wells notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suggesting an upcoming enforcement action. The “legal threat” could potentially target its staking program, listed digital assets, wallet, or Coinbase Prime services.
• Do Kwon arrested and charged: Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro and charged with eight separate counts by United States prosecutors in New York, including commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation.
• CFTC sues Binance and CZ: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance, alleging possible regulatory violations. The lawsuit revealed that Binance employees, including CEO Changpeng Zhao, used the Signal app with an "auto-delete" feature to communicate with each other. The suit implies that the CFTC had access to the CEO's phone and was able to read Signal chat. The lawsuits claims that Binance actively advised US customers to use VPN services to bypass controls, was involved in inseider trading and major customers were instructed to set up shell companies in the British Virgin Islands to evade restrictions. CZ and Binance denied all allegations.

Current developments

But there are also some good developments:

• Ethereum Scaling Solution zkSync Launches Alpha Mainnet

  After four years of building and multiple milestones, zkSync is finally launching its Ethereum scaling solution to the public.

• Arbitrum Settles Into Top 40 Coins With 81% of Airdrop Claimed
  If you haven't already, claim your Airdrop tokens if you're eligible. Most of the eligible users of the popular Ethereum scaling solution didn’t wait to claim the free Arbitrum (ARB) tokens.

How to move on from there

As we wrap up Q1 of 2023, it's clear that the market has been more bullish than many of us anticipated. In particular, Bitcoin has been the outperformer of the year, up an impressive 70% year-to-date.

While there has been some focus on the banks and investigations, I don't expect anything major to happen. It's always important to keep an eye on these developments, but overall, I feel that our portfolio is well positioned for any potential changes in the market.

As we look back on the year so far, I’m grateful for how well it has been going. Of course, there have been ups and downs, but overall, I’m are pleased with the returns I have made. Of course, DCA is always a good idea to to (I get asked this a lot).

I still believe we will eventually come down again into the $20,000s, but only time will tell if and when we will see lower prices again. At the moment, I think we will see a rebound if there are no more banking crises.

Portfolio updates

We filled a lot of the orders from last report, only $PLU is not behaving. The price sits between 9 and 10$ since weeks now and the orders are still open. Patience is the keyword.

Old orders

• New BUY Limit Order for $OP
  • Buy 230 $OP @ 2.165 $USDT
  • Why Optimism? >> see here
• New Buy Limit Order for $FLOKI
  • Buy 5,263,158 $FLOKI @ 0.000038 USDT
  • Why? Insider Info, but only a small position, since I’m normally not into Memecoins
• Sell Limit Order for $PLU
  • Sell 10 $PLU @ 10.099 $USDT
  • old orders are still valid
    • Sell 5 PLU @ 10.97 USDT
    • Sell 5 PLU @ 11.97 USDT
    • Sell 5 PLU @ 14.97 USDT
    • Sell 5 PLU @ 15.97 USDT
    • Sell 5 PLU @ 18.97 USDT
    • Sell 5 PLU @ 22.97 USDT
• New SELL Limit Order for $ETH
  • Sell 0.3 ETH @ 1,690 USDT

New orders

Planning to buy ETH back in the next weeks in case the markets come down.

• Buy 0.3 ETH @ 1,390 USDT

I feel like that could be a little too greedy and we fill this order, but we have enough positions to be alittle greedy and I’m willing to take my chances.

Latest transactions

Current state of the portfolio

The shared portfolio now sits at 12,968.60 USD 🔥

Below you find the current portfolio pie chart.

Since the start of the portfolio in April 2022, we’re up 29%, while the market is down (BTC -40% & Top20 -65%).

Summary

The markets are rough and the financial system stands on shaky legs, but crypto is doing well in this environment. The real goal of Bitcoin is that it is made for when the banks collapse.

I hope you have found this market update to be informative and useful. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Stay safe and happy investing!

Stefan

Categories: Report

* The content in this report is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Always do your own research! Nothing contained in this video constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by CryptoExplorer or any third-party service provider to buy or sell any digital assets or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.