By Alex Tapscott

Last week I wrote about how the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank has, for the time being, cut off many crypto-oriented businesses from mainstream banking services.

Crypto could just be collateral damage from the broader crisis. But some analysts, observers, journalists and even politicians are now calling this a coordinated crackdown by the Biden administration - an example of the adage “never let a good crisis go to waste” being put into practice. Former Congressman Barney Frank, an independent director of Signature Bank, has been touting the “Operation Chokepoint” theory loudly. This is perhaps to deflect attention from the bank’s failure and from his more recent advocacy that bank regulations he authored (Dodd-Frank) be partially rolled back. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board has thrown fuel on the fire in penning a piece, “Barney Frank was Right about Signature Bank” citing as evidence that the FDIC brokered the acquisition of Signature’s business by New York Community Bancorp, excluded the deposits of crypto businesses. Some in the crypto community have also cited the recent White House’s Economic Report, which devoted an entire Chapter to crypto, mostly questioning its value and raising concerns about perceived risks (and also making numerous factually incorrect assertions). If this is really a coordinated effort by the government to clamp down on this nascent industry, then it is a self-defeating exercise. The U.S. risks losing some of its tech champions, for starters. For example, Bloomberg reported this week that Coinbase is exploring offshore venues, fearing a more hostile regulatory regime at home. This will certainly be worth watching.

Meanwhile, Fidelity Quietly Expands Digital Asset Services as Bitcoin Nears $30,000

If “Operation Chokepoint” is meant to stoke fear, uncertainty and doubt about the asset class, then it is so far failing. Bitcoin continues to be one of the year’s best-performing assets as it nears $30,000. Last week, investment behemoth Fidelity quietly launched its digital asset trading and custody business for most retail accounts, charging a 1% spread for purchases and sales of digital assets. As markets remain volatile, smart companies taking the long view continue to invest more in this asset class and technology.

Bitcoin’s price move is notable for a few reasons. Bitcoin was conceived in the depths of the 2008 financial crisis and launched in 2009 at a time when confidence in the financial sector was at a low. So, perhaps it is not surprising that it is thriving during another bank crisis. Indeed, Bitcoin is showing signs of (finally) acting as an uncorrelated store of value (SoV) asset. Whereas during 2022, Bitcoin was highly correlated to the NASDAQ, trading more like a FAANG stock than an SoV, in this recent period Bitcoin has become less and less correlated to other asset classes, with the exception of gold which is also catching a bid in this period of great uncertainty. According to data from Glassnode, more than 2 million Bitcoin addresses with a non-zero balance have been created since the start of the year, suggesting broadening adoption. In the same period, Bitcoin dominance surged from 41% to 47%.

What Does the Bitcoin Rally Mean for the Rest of Crypto? (I’m Feeling Bullish)

Bitcoin’s bump has me bullish on the rest of the market, especially Ethereum. There are some striking similarities between this early rally in Bitcoin and the rally of Q4/2020 which preceded the bull market of 2021. From September 2020 until January 2021, Bitcoin’s dominance shot up from 58% to a staggering 70% before plunging to 40% in May 2021 as other assets rallied. This look-back into history tells us a couple of things. First, over time Bitcoin’s share of the total cryptoasset market cap is declining steadily. This makes sense, as Web3 is growing and expanding into other industries and asset classes, the proportionate share of the first ‘killer app’ should decline. But it also tells us that sharp rallies higher in dominance precede broader rallies. If this one has legs, it might be time to buckle up because it could be quite a ride.

For a full breakdown of this and other quantitative metrics, check out our quantitative section.

Join Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young as they decode the world of DeFi with special guest Roneil Rumburg, CEO and Co-Founder at Audius. Listen in as they discuss Roneil’s ride to founding Audius, how music consumption has evolved from traditional forms, $AUDIO’s tokenomics, critical considerations for Audius’ three-sided marketplace, what’s in store for Audius’s future, and more!

Audius is a Web3 streaming platform that empowers musical artists to develop fanbases and monetize their work without relying on record deals. Supported by renowned artists like Steve Aoki and The Chainsmokers, Audius offers high-quality audio streaming at 320 kbps, unlimited uploads, and unique content, all free of charge for its 7,000,000 monthly fans and over 250,000 artists, making it among the largest crypto applications ever built. By using its native cryptocurrency token, $AUDIO, artists can earn rewards, while holders can stake tokens to help secure the platform and run nodes. As a decentralized alternative to subscription-based services, Audius puts artists and fans first, providing a modern and open music streaming service. Roneil is a seasoned Web3 entrepreneur and investor; he co-founded Kleiner Perkins’ early-stage seed fund, investing in companies like Lightning Labs, and attended Standford University, where he co-founded Bitcoin peer-to-peer payment company Backlash.

Tune in to the 87th DeFi Decoded episode to hear Alex, Andrew, and Roneil discuss all things Audius and how they are leading the transformation of traditional music streaming platforms. How is Audius different from typical music streaming platforms like Spotify, and what challenges does it solve for musical artists’ monetization efforts? What are the tokenomics encompassing AUDIO, and how has Audius leveraged them to help bootstrap its network effects? How has Audius achieved such sustainable growth in its user base since its inception, and which crypto aspects have helped support this expansion?

On Tuesday, March 14th, Alex Tapscott delivered a keynote presentation at the 2023 Fintech and Financing Conference & Expo (FFCON23), on behalf of the Blockchain Research Institute team. His presentation outlined the emergence of Web3 and how it will transform money, business, culture, and markets.

In his discussions, Tapscott provided an overview of how Web3 is poised to disrupt industries ranging from finance and healthcare to education and entertainment, and how it is creating new economic and cultural opportunities that were previously impossible. He also shared insights on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in charting this exciting new frontier and offered guidance for businesses and individuals looking to leverage the power of Web3 to create value and transform the world.

Here is a great opportunity to access Alex Tapscott's full keynote presentation and all virtual sessions being hosted at FFCON23, they are kindly offering our avid newsletter readers complimentary access to all programming during the multi-week conference: March 14, 21, 28, and April 4.

To access all of the live and on-demand programmings from FFCON23, delivered by the National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association, please follow the below steps. 

Step 1: Register with this complimentary ticket link: https://bit.ly/3JGMluH
Step 2: Then once registered click this link to view Alex Tapscott's keynote presentation: https://bit.ly/3ZLAe5g