On The Pulse - Edition #006
Welcome to On The Pulse, with Maui.

Hey everyone, welcome back to this week's edition of 'On The Pulse.' Thanks as ever to all who have subscribed and are reading this via email. If you're currently browsing, please consider subscribing! If you find today's newsletter valuable, please recommend it to a friend and feel free to suggest topics or ask questions on my Twitter @jordymaui.

This week

Lesson of the Week: "Whats a Bitcoin ETF?"

This week, it’s all about acquisitions, ETFs, Pudgy Penguins and more. It’s important I let you all know that i’ll be in Paris this week for NFTParis and of course, my W3Paris event! I hope to see some of you there and of course, gain some new subscribers from it all… :)

• 📊 Defining Bitcoin ETFs: 
  A Bitcoin ETF is a type of investment fund that tracks the price of Bitcoin and trades on a traditional stock exchange. It allows investors to buy and sell shares of the ETF, which represent ownership of Bitcoin, just like trading stocks. Essentially, it provides a way for investors to invest in Bitcoin through regulated markets, without the complexities of buying and storing actual Bitcoins on wallets or exchanges.
  

• 🚀 How Bitcoin ETFs Work: 
  Bitcoin ETFs work by holding Bitcoin as their underlying asset and issuing shares that represent ownership of that Bitcoin. These shares can then be bought and sold on stock exchanges like any other security. The value of the ETF shares typically tracks the price of Bitcoin, allowing investors to profit from Bitcoin's price movements without directly owning the cryptocurrency. The ETFs you invest in through companies like Grayscale or VanEck hold the Bitcoins - not you, just the same with buying Amazon stocks etc.
  

• 💡 Benefits of Bitcoin ETFs:
  Bitcoin ETFs offer several benefits to investors and funds. They provide a convenient and regulated way to invest in Bitcoin, making it accessible to a wider range of investors, including institutional and retail investors. ETFs also offer liquidity, transparency, and tax efficiency compared to other investment vehicles like futures contracts or direct Bitcoin ownership. In short, its just a better way for regular or risk managed investors to enjoy the price action of BTC.
  

• ⚠️ Considerations and Risks:
  While Bitcoin ETFs offer many benefits, they also come with risks. Like any investment, the value of Bitcoin ETFs can fluctuate based on market conditions, and investors may incur losses if the price of Bitcoin declines. Additionally, regulatory uncertainties and the potential for market manipulation are important considerations for investors. For example, the moment BTC ETFs went live, they suffered a huge downside almost immediately when GBTC started selling off as discussed in previous Newsletters!
  

• 🔍 Current Landscape and Future Outlook: 
  Currently, several proposals for Bitcoin ETFs are pending approval from regulatory authorities in various countries. If approved, these ETFs could potentially attract significant institutional and retail investment into the Bitcoin market, further legitimising and mainstreaming Bitcoin as an asset class. The more ETF inflows we have, the higher the price will rise and thats without considering additional market factors like the ‘halvening’ etc.

Overall, Bitcoin ETFs represent an exciting development in the trust and reputation of the cryptocurrency space, offering investors a regulated and accessible way to gain exposure to Bitcoin's potential upside while managing the risks. More on the ‘halvening’ next week.

Major Headlines: "The Weekly Roundup"

This weeks major headlines include Yuga buying more ‘things’, Pudgy Penguins restocking in Walmart and Coinbase BTC holdings dropping like crazy! Enjoy.

🧪 Yuga Acquires Moonbirds: 

Yuga Labs, the team behind the wildly successful Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has made a strategic move by acquiring Proof, a popular NFT platform, and taking over the Moonbirds NFT brand. This acquisition marks Yuga Labs' expansion into the broader NFT space and underscores their commitment to further innovation and growth in the digital collectibles market. Although on the outside this looks like a big move to build the Yuga portfolio, many fans and holders of BAYC have voiced their negativity amongst this acquisition. Read more about this here.

🐧 Pudgy Penguins Restock Walmart: 

After selling 750,000 toys worldwide, Pudgy Penguins have linked up the wallmart shelves with a new line of toys and collectibles. They continue to path a way for others in the space to pioneer as they have and are consistently proving themselves as the biggest NFT company out there. An excellent achievement and be sure to read their official thread about it - here.

💸 $1.6 BILLION $BTC sell off could be next week: 

Grayscale, one of the largest cryptocurrency investment firms, could be selling off a staggering $1.6 billion worth of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares, next week. This massive selloff has raised concerns among investors about its potential impact on Bitcoin's price dynamics, with many speculating on the short-term implications for the market. For more information on why they have been granted permission to do so by a US Judge, read this article!

🪫 Coinbase BTC holdings hit low not seen since 2015: 

Bitcoin reserves on Coinbase have plummeted to levels not seen since 2015. This decline suggests a shift in investor behavior, with users withdrawing or possibly selling their Bitcoin. It reflects growing confidence in holding assets securely outside of exchanges, impacting Bitcoin's market dynamics. For more detailed insights on what this means, check out this article.

Maui’s Weekly Analysis of Charts

Dive into the pulse of the crypto market with me for a quick overview. If there are elements you don’t understand here, don’t worry – feel free to ask me questions on Twitter. Interested in a specific chart analysis? Let me know! I’ll also be holding weekly polls based on your suggestions. Anyway, here are this week’s charts:

₿ BTC (Bitcoin):

• Recent Price Action: Over the last 7 Days, $BTC saw a continued rally, climbing a further 5% after the CPI push above $50,000 and is currently sat at $52,200.
  

• Weekly Forecast: After a US Holiday (Presidents Day) the markets have been relatively flat and still not appearing to have a blow off top or clear distribution for what would be an expected dump. Eyes are looking at a push higher to the $60k range or sideways action to form distribution before a dump back to support areas.
  
  This week, i’m not making any moves and waiting to see where we end up. More BTC ETF inflows and rumours of $GBTC dumps leave me wanting to wait for confirmations and come back next week!

♦ ETH (Ethereum):

It finally did it! Welcome back to $3,000 Ethereum. Another huge push up and 15% weekly gains for ETH sees it hit the price target we were waiting for.

• Weekly Forecast: Now we’ve hit $3k, whats next? Naturally its either continuation to higher levels of which i’m watching $3,200 for - or - it’s a pullback down to build further support for a leg up at the $2,800 area.

I’ll be saying the same for all this week and actually ending my analysis here to keep things easier. After my trip to Paris, I’ll prepare some more altcoin charts that look tasty but for now, we sit and wait for some more clear paths and targets to be hit.

If you have any specific charts you’d like me to take a punt at next week, please do tweet me suggestions, i’ll happily poll ideas too.

(Apologies on a shorter chart analysis this week, as I said - I’ll be paying more attention to charts next week, after Paris to get a better idea on levels to talk about! There is never any point in forcing a narrative if things are not clear.)

📰 The Summary: From Crypto Trends to NFT Buzz

Each week, we will end the newsletter with a really brief TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t Read) assessment of what’s been going on this week across Crypto and NFTs. I hope this section provides additional value for those who read!

Crypto:

• 📈 Market Trends: Continuation and new highs as BTC hits $1T Market Cap and many more follow the uptrend.

• 💎 ETH hits $3,000’: Finally Ethereum is trading back above $3,000 per coin, long awaited by its fans and investors.

• 💸 $1.6b Bitcoin Sell off could be next week: The $1.6b BTC from Grayscale could happen next week and cause lots of volatility.

• 📱 Coinbase Downloads Peak: Are we really back!? Of course we are, Coinbase downloads have flown back up again.

• 🪫 BTC Holdings at Coinbase are lowest in 9 years: Yep, that’s right - the largest exchange currently holds less BTC than 9 years ago, wow!

NFTs:

• 🗼 NFTParis Week: Paris, I will be in you (today!) Its going to be a great week of events, especially W3Paris… even if I am bias.

• 🐧 Pudgy Penguins restock Walmart: Pudgy Penguins have now supplied a second release with walmart, incredible work.

• 🧢 9DCC featured in Vogue: Web3s premium fashion brand by Gmoney have been featured in Vogue.

• 🧪 YUGA acquires Moonbirds Once a huge success and now a slowly bleeding rug; moonbirds have been saved by the great YUGA Labs.

• 💰 Underwater of loans on Squiggles A huge amount of large loans on OG Artblocks NFT ‘Squiggles’ are underwater.

And with that, we’re wrapped up for another week. If you have any suggestions for lesson of the week, please let me know! If you enjoyed this weeks newsletter, please feel free to support by following me on twitter @jordymaui

Until next time!