Adrian DeFi
BTC & ETH ETFs Failed? Plus: Arbitrum Season 2.0 and My Portfolio, 5 Tips to become a DeFi Expert
Welcome to Adrian DeFi, the only Crypto Newsletter youโll ever need!
Greetings DeFi Enthusiasts,
Juggling the demands of building a business and personal brand leaves little room for going through 100 newsletters, tuning into endless Twitter chats, or diving deep into YouTube videos. Thatโs where I step in, your dedicated DeFi expert since the radiant days of DeFi Summer 2020. I'm here to save you time by summarizing the vast DeFi cosmos into a crisp 5-minute read, delivering actionable advice and the day's paramount news straight to your inbox.
Everything I share is a page from my own playbook, aimed at safe, long-term investments to build a consistent income stream in the DeFi realm. This newsletter is your express elevator to the top floor of DeFi understanding, minus the usual digital noise.
Todayโs hot picks:
๐ถ๏ธ Ethereum Futures ETFs started trading
๐ถ๏ธ The Ethereum Bull Case
๐ถ๏ธ Arbitrum season 2.0 Hypothesis โ My Portfolio
๐ถ๏ธ 5 Tips to become a DeFi Expert
Market Update
Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index
(from @BitcoinFear)
Ethereum Fear And Greed Index
(from @EthereumFear):
Crypto winners and losers
(from @CryptoBubbles): The global #crypto market cap today is $1.06T, a -0.59% change in the last 24h. Total trading volume in the last 24h is at $69.5B.
#BTC dominance is at 39.52% and #ETH dominance is at 17.33%.
Scoop of the week ๐ง
๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ, ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐, ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐, ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ, $๐๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐
๐ผ ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ'๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
After a staggering $200 million exploit, Mixin Network's founder announced users will only access 50% of their funds for now. An interesting development: Mixin has offered the hacker a whopping $20 million bug bounty to return the stolen assets and is also mulling over issuing "bond tokens" to compensate users.
โถ๏ธ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป? The DeFi community watches closely as Mixin navigates this crisis, shedding light on the vulnerabilities in the DeFi space.
โ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
The SEC postponed decisions on Bitcoin ETF applications from big players like BlackRock, Bitwise, and more. Despite a past court loss over ETF rejections, analysts remain hopeful, even as the wait continues.
โถ๏ธ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐? These repeated delays highlight the regulatory uncertainties in the US crypto landscape.
๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ'๐ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
MoneyGram announced a non-custodial digital wallet, aiming for Q1 2024. This product promises seamless cross-border transactions, a unique cash-out feature, and robust complianceโall under the respected MoneyGram umbrella.
โถ๏ธ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป? MoneyGram's strategic foray into crypto integration signifies the blurring lines between traditional finance and digital currencies.
๐ถ ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ'๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ถ๐
Meta might be sidelining crypto for now, but their metaverse ambition is full steam ahead. They unveiled the Quest 3 headset, AI chatbots, and smart Ray-Ban glasses this week, showing their intent in the digital realm.
โถ๏ธ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐? If Meta's metaverse bid succeeds with their vast resources, they could once again shape the future of digital social interaction.๐ฐ $๐๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ณ? ๐๐ด๐ผ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐
Michael Egorov, Curve's founder, cleared his Aave debt, relieving $CRV holders. Yet, with $42.7 million owed on other platforms, the financial Odyssey isn't over.
โถ๏ธ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ? This move is a reminder of the interconnectedness and risks in the DeFi space, especially concerning high-profile debts.
Story of the day ๐
US Exchanges Welcome Nine ETH Futures ETFs But Demand Falls Short
Nine exchange-traded funds (ETFs) backed by ETH futures made their debut on US stock exchanges. While this move paves an easier way for US investors to get Ether exposure, initial responses pose the question: do investors truly desire it? Anticipation for this launch had previously driven a 10% increase in CEX open interest on ETH futures, pushing Ether's price above $1.7k. But come launch day, these ETFs witnessed a subdued demand, logging under $2M in volume by middayโa stark contrast to the BITO's Bitcoin futures ETF which registered a whopping $200M within its first 15 minutes back in October 2021.
However, the silver lining amidst these tepid figures is significant. The introduction of these ETFs marks a crucial step in the crypto arena. The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval seems to solidify Ether's position as a non-security, ending a prolonged phase of regulatory ambiguity. This clarification not only ratifies Ether's standing but also brightens the outlook for countless innovators on the Ethereum platform. Though the debut of futures ETFs might not have met investors' expectations, the evolving regulatory environment hints at an impending spot ETF approval for both Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Arbitrum Season 2.0 - My Portfolio
Investment hypothesis:
In the past 7 days, Arbitrum is the blockchain with the largest positive bridge net flows, 6x larger than the blockchain in the 2nd place, Optimism.
This essentially means that new money is flowing into the ecosystem for the first time in the past few months.
Whatโs driving this growth?
The Arbitrum Odyssey Event went live a few days ago. Odyssey is a 7-week journey of exploring the biggest projects on Arbitrum One. Participants have to interact with several protocols. In exchange, they can collect several badges.
Arbitrum ecosystem projects started to apply for grants under the Arbitrum Short-Term Incentive Program (STIP). Over 100 projects applied and the DAO will decide which projects will get the grants soon.
The TL;DR of the STIP:
Incentives quantum: 50m ARB ($42m) earmarked for incentive grants
4 tiers of incentives: Beacon (<= 200k ARB), Siren (<= 750k ARB), Lighthouse (<= 2m ARB), Pinnacle (>= 2m ARB)
Timing: Granted funds to be distributed until the 31 Janโ24
# of rounds: 2 voting rounds
Since I have already outperformed BTC + ETH with my Arbitrum investments in early 2023 and many proven projects will benefit from liquidity, I have set up a new Arbitrum portfolio. You can find and copy it here on Nested.fi - Adrian DeFi Portfolio.
If you want to know more about Nested and why I am using it for small Alpha portfolios, check this out:
Adrian Pape on LinkedIn: NestedFi
5 Tips ๐
How to become an expert in the decentralized domain:
Continuous Learning: Subscribe to platforms like Decrypt for daily insights. Participate in the DeFi Talents program from Web3 Talents.
Network Relentlessly: Engage with DeFi practitioners like @DefiIgnas on Twitter (I don`t know him personally but like his content).
Attend Webinars and Twitter Spaces: Enroll in DeFi webinars and join Twitter Spaces to learn from the key players in the industry.
Practice What You Preach: Implement your learnings in real-time DeFi projects. Use a ETH L2 or a cheap L1 to test with small sums.
Share Your Knowledge: Publish your insights and foster a culture of shared learning.
Wisdom of the day ๐ง : It's not just about trading tokens, but trading old systems for innovation!
Adrian DeFi + ChatGPT
Disclaimer: The information contained in the Adrian DeFi Newsletter in no way constitutes investment advice. Therefore: I do not assume any liability for investment decisions you make based on the information presented here.