Morning Coinheads!

Still trading sub US$30,000, Bitcoin (BTC) has made some wee gains over the last week, but it’s still trading more than 25% lower compared to this time last month.

Just sayin’.

Let’s begin.

 

JPMorgan says BTC mega-undervalued, now the bank’s preferred alt-asset

Regardless of the latest crypto crisis, JPMorgan Chase & Co are sticking to their take on BTC fair value, nominated back in February at US$38,000.

The bank’s crypto strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, overnight doubled down on that one, reiterating the assessment based on its volatility in comparison with gold at circa 28% higher than its current level of US$29,757.

 

Open your wallet: GameStop is back for a short squeeze

Shares of video game retailer GameStop popped circa 25% last night as excitement over a potential short squeeze rose on social media.

GameStop – the surprise pioneer of the meme-stock movement – remains vulnerable to super bouts of volatility and just launched a digital wallet for cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, pushing further into a buzzy area as it looks to turn around its core video game business, according to Tipranks.

Today, it looks like interest in the stock on social media is building, as short interest has risen to the highest it’s been in more than a year, according to analytics company Ortex.

“The new wallet that Gamestop launched is a non-custodial one and allows users to connect to DEFI platforms from their web browsers. The company said the allowance will be provided by the digital asset wallet and will allow gamers and others to receive, store and use crypto and NFTs across the decentralised apps without having to leave the web browsers. The new wallet is based on the Ethereum blockchain and can be obtained by visiting the Chrome Web Browser to download it. Besides allowing users to connect with other mainstream marketplaces in the space, the GameStop wallet will allow seamless access to the company’s NFT marketplace.”

GameStop earlier this week also announced the launch of its digital wallet for holding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrency, as part of its plan to transform into a more mighty digitally-focussed bidness.

The company said on 23 May that the move will allow gamers and others to store, send, receive and use cryptocurrencies and NFTs across decentralised apps without having to leave their web browsers.

 

The Dubrovnik Times is asking: How are NFTs transforming DeFi?

The two most prominent trends in the cryptocurrency market are Defi and NFTs, says the Croatian masthead.

A recap: Defi allows users to access banking services using a decentralised network while NFTs help users tokenise their assets.

“While these two entities are still performing individually in the market, it is important to reflect on the possibilities of using the two simultaneously for the benefit of the enterprises.

“As we move forward with decentralised finance, it is reasonable to wonder about NFTs’ evolution and how they will support Decentralised Finance. Today NFTs are often considered digital art. They have become collectible items fetching you high prices in auctions.”

 

BTC heading to US$8,000?

The baddest man in the whole damn town (that’s Rob Badman) says take this one with a kilo of NaCl.

Rob says should you trust the word of wayward forecaster Scott Minerd, CIO of  Guggenheim Partners, BTC is due a wee 70% drop to circa from US$8k.

While guesstimating with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Minerd called the impact of the US Fed’s rate trajectory thus:

“When you break below 30,000 [dollars] consistently, 8,000 [dollars] is the ultimate bottom, so I think we have a lot more room to the downside, especially with the Fed being restrictive.”

 

Capitalists still willing to venture all on crypto

Crashing crypto prices and the failed stablecoin experiment are proving no deterrent for venture capitalists, according to Bloomberg, with Andreessen Horowitz said to be raising the industry’s largest ever crypto fund.

Bloomers reports the firm has garnered a $4.5 billion crypto war chest, the industry’s largest to date.

The US giant is dedicating $3 billion to venture investments and $1.5 billion to seed investments.

The fund will be the No. 4 crypto-aligned investment product for Andreessen Horowitz, taking its total digital-asset investments to US$7.6 billion. Andreessen Horowitz has backed some of the biggest names in blockchain, including crypto exchange Coinbase, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea, NBA Top Shot creator Dapper Labs and Sky Mavis, the developer of NFT game Axie Infinity.