Bitcoin led via Saylor and Bitcoin treasuries. Then Ethereum with Tom Lee, which saw Ethereum finally break all-time highs, and this week it appears it's Solana's time to shine. Next up would be a long tail of riskier altscoins. This sounds great, but alt seasons usually last two to four euphoric months before the entire market cools off.
I don't think that would mean this bull market is over, because that would mean Bitcoin has basically seen its all-time high for this cycle. It is more likely that there are no more cycles!
This week hosted two notable crypto conferences: WebX in Tokyo and Bitcoin Asia in Hong Kong. I attended both.
Arthur Hayes gave a keynote at WebX on Monday. I had the privilege of speaking with him the day before. The speech and my interview are worth watching, but for those that can't be asked it can be summarized with one word: stablecoins. Stablecoins were definitely in the news and on my brain this week.
Hayes thinks the U.S. will create $10+ trillion stablecoins in the next three years, a boon for people all over the world hungry for access to U.S. dollars, but a worry for governments. Among the winners from the stablecoin explosion will be DeFi.
Hayes made waves with his speech, especially the Saylor-esque over-the-top prediction that Hyperliquid's token, HYPE, could 126x. That's a wild valuation, but when its trading volume is surpassing the likes of juggernaut Robinhood perhaps there's something to it. My HYPE bags scream yes, but my head reminds me to breathe.
After WebX I went to Bitcoin Asia in Hong Kong where I almost escaped seeing and hearing about stablecoins, that is until Eric Trump expressed his love of Bitcoin and stablecoins. He mentioned World Liberty Financial's USD1 by name.
The most exciting insight from Bitcoin Asia came courtesy of Jademont Zheng of Waterdrip Capital about BTCFi. I mentioned in my preview of Bitcoin Asia that I expected a huge Bitcoin ecosystem (L2s, sidechains, bitcoin memecoins, exchanges, etc..) presence, but there was almost nothing. Mr. Zheng pointed out that a thousand flowers bloomed last year, but now only the strong have survived.
That trade isn't over. He's confident that these winners will accelerate their TVL, sucking up BTC capital from individual investors, Bitcoin treasuries, even ETFs seeking yield on their Bitcoin. The biggest gains for these Bitcoin ecosystem survivors are ahead, not behind.
He also mentioned Bitcoin-backed stablecoins as a key area of growth. There's that word again!
Finally, I was surprised at the retail presence at these two conferences. For the past 13 months I have attended approximately one conference a month. I believe these two have had more retail presence than every other conference. It makes me think that perhaps new people, or retail are finally coming back into crypto.
-David Sencil
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