Qrafty brings the weekend mood

Qrafty is loaded with lots of goodies from the lands of crypto! Let's gooo!

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Qrafty the Crypto Badger
August 04, 2023

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Wahaha, you beautiful souls, welcome to CoinQraft !

🤩 The weekend is here and it’s like something inside you just woke up and it’s ready to partaaaaayyyyyy! 🥳

Before we get our crazy on, 🦡 Qrafty just got back from the crypto land loaded with news, updates and coffee! Ready?

Time ticks aways, so here is today’s main piece 👇️

It’s that time again… the time of tests!

The time when the wheat is separated from the chaff. The larpers from the builders. The hodlers from the weak hands.

Qrafty ain’t judgin’ babe, Qrafty gets it. It’s hard as hell to maintain your mental health in this space. Primarily because you are not used to losing money this quickly, right? 😅 No, it’s because it’s really really hard to filter the signal from the noise in this very young field. The interests are extremely big and most of us are small fish in a very big body of water populated with some serious predators. But there’s still incredible room for growth!

That’s why Qrafty is here, Qrafty takes on anyone and doesn’t fear anything. Qrafty fights snakes and sharks anytime!

Qrafty the Crypto Badger

Now we are back in the red period, where everything seems like it’s falling apart. It’s times like this that test your conviction and confidence that the whole market will rebound. And yes, it will.

Volumes are low, confidence is lol (yes lol), scams are rampant, only a few builders and cult members are left in the space. All are recycling the same info with no different perspective. Everyone is complaining and bitchin’ that they’ve invested their $1000 and haven’t made a million in a month. Everyone’s shilling their scam project. You’re constantly being tricked into giving away your seed pass or logging in to a scam wallet duplicate site.

The overall feeling is like being the only one without a partner at the prom. It shucks to say the least. But this is good.

❝

Strong people create good times. Good times create weak people. Weak people create bad times. Bad times create strong people.

Someone smart

Why do you say that, Qrafty?

There’s a long way to go until BTC’s halving and even more after that. There’s a very uncertain autumn for the economy and traditional markets at the horizon where capital has dried up, crypto’s shine was stolen by AI and a lot of the people from the hype era have moved on to other shiny things… like AI or a job at Mickey D’s.

A lot of talking heads are saying that we are out of the woods economy wise and ready for a new cycle of growth. Qrafty smells something fishy here. The only big problem mudding the perspective is that next year is a general election year in a lot of countries.

So that means that you can really destroy your political opponent’s new mandate right from the beginning by borrowing money like a maniac, spending like crazy and propping up the economy until after the elections, when you gladly cede the throne to your opponent and watch the economy implode. Obviously, that happens if you love the election… or you plan to lose the election to sit comfortably in the opposition during the economic downturn and rise as Messiah for the next terms. Clever, huh?

Now it’s time for those who are serious. No, crypto will not disappear. It might crash a few more times just to make sure everyone is properly squeezed financially and mentally, but the rebound is going to happen. To what degree, that Qrafty cannot say as it cannot read the future.

So what now?

This period of relative calm provides an excellent opportunity for reflection and consolidation. When the crypto market experiences rapid surges, it often leads to speculation and hype-driven behavior, which can overshadow the technology's true potential. Remember all those “I’m in it for the tech” bros?

Where are they now? Eeeeexactly, gone faster than daddy who left to buy a pack of cigs and never came back.

A slower market can create uncertainty and pessimism. Many investors crave the adrenaline rush of rapid gains and might lose interest when the excitement dwindles. You don’t really call those investors, rather gamblers. But there’s a whole freaking generation of them!

As enthusiasm wanes, so does the media coverage and public attention, which could slow down innovation and adoption in the crypto space. That’s the stage we’re at right now.

Another thing a stagnant market does is deter potential institutional investors. Institutions often prefer stable and predictable environments to minimize risks. If the market fails to demonstrate consistent growth, they might hold off on major investments, delaying the much-anticipated influx of institutional capital that could push crypto to new heights.

But that’s not happening, is it?

We’re seeing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF’s showing up left and right like they’re made with ChatGPT and high institutional interest in the whole space. It’s just quite silent, as intended. You can’t really see that from the price action, which makes you grab a bottle of booze and hide in a cave.

But it’s important to understand that this is the blueprint for serious investors. Just like Warren Buffet said: buy when there’s blood in the streets. Guess who’s buying now? Mr. Michael Saylor is a public one, admittedly the man is a symbol and a cute meme by now, since he’s pretty much been carrying the domain by himself for a while. But behind that, there are a lot of entities both private and public that can’t wait to get in on the action. Remember, they have the privilege of time and can outwait any of us.

Qrafty’s bottom line

This slow period has its pros and cons for the crypto market. While it offers a chance to reset and consolidate, there are financial instruments for institutions being created more and more. This will all trickle down and allow a bigger mass of people to access these crypto markets. Crypto has resilience built in the system, and this phase might just be a stepping stone to greater things on the horizon if you judge from history.

The time to buy, if you want to become invested in the space, is beginning to draw closer and closer. It' is when everything will seem to go down and crash and the sentiment will be terrible (we are somewhere between Anger and Depression right now) . Don’t time the market, just understand the emotional cycles. Expect that, understand that and learn from that, mkay? If you want to buy, that’s when you should do it.

Qrafty will be here to point out the way and share alpha and guide you, but you need to be an equal partner for Qrafty. Way too many people got burned believing that they shouldn’t think for themselves, believing that the crypto “influencers“ have their interest at heart, believing that what is said on Twitter is truth. It’s the other way around. Everyone wants your money, everyone wants to trick you into buying into their project. That’s the pure, simple truth.

Qrafty’s got your back, but please pay attention and be careful! Remember, none of this is financial advice - it's simply a glimpse into the fascinating dynamics of the crypto world. Happy hodling! 🚀🌕

🙃 Before we get to the main news of today, here’s a short video that sums up Bitcoin’s price action throughout July 👇️ 

A good giggle… priceless. For everything else, there’s laughing hysterically.

Here are the main events of the day

Back when XRP and Ripple was sued by the SEC, the whole crypto industry wanted them to go down in flames. Coinbase, spearheaded by Mr. Brian Armstrong, was among the quick acting exchanges (the first one actually) to delist XRP after SEC sued them. It wasn’t a secret that Mr. Armstrong was among the ones to be less in favor or XRP and Ripple, to put it mildly (yes, he was a hater, I said it).

But life has this way of kicking your bum bum just when you think you’re the bigshot. It’s also true that, after the delisting incident, Mr. Armstrong seemed to change his opinion and started to mildly support XRP. Guess what, now Coinbase is sued by the SEC and Coinbase is using the lawsuit (that XRP/Ripple won against the SEC) to their own advantage against the SEC.

  • Why is this important, Qrafty?

Because it’s important to know who you are dealing with in the industry. On the surface, things appear well and smooth and everyone is playing nice. But, as Qrafty said in a previous newsletter, crypto has a LOT of history and it’s important to know aspects of it.

Why, Qrafty? Why should I know these things?

First, because that’s why you are reading this newsletter. You want to know the more intimate details and information about crypto. Any dum dum can post links. You can read the news Qrafty is posting in a lot of other places, but in no place will you read Qrafty’s details and analysis. Qrafty has been around in crypto land for quite a few years now, Qrafty knows the actors in the space and what they’ve been up to in the last years.

Second, because Qrafty’s mission is to keep you informed AND prepare you for the bull run. That is when all this info will come back to you and you will be a lot more knowledgeable and aware than others. You will know how and when to make your move, have a clear head and unbiased information (as much as possible). Qrafty doesn’t want your trust, Qrafty wants to make you pay attention because that is how you will be rewarded in the markets 😉 

The hacker who stole about 120,900 Bitcoin worth ~ $4.6 billions (yes, with a B) by hacking the Bitfinex exchange in 2016, an NY dude named Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein (yes, like that country the size of a small town in Europe) admitted and took a deal with the prosecutors, along with his wife.

Why is this important, Qrafty?

It’s important for two reasons:

  • Because they actually thought they could get away with it. At this level only state sponsored actors can pull off this kind of hack and remain anonymous; or not show up suddenly dead on a beach.

  • The way they were identified and caught is interesting to take a look at, as it tells a special story about the monitoring capabilities of the State and the underlying infrastructure of the system.

So these 2 dumdum’s thought they could actually steal billions of dollars and launder them via gas cards and Amazon gift cards and live happily ever after like in ones of those stupid romcom that doesn’t make a damn sense because people aren’t like that in real life… /rant over.

Oh, did I mention that the guy’s wife, Heather Morgan, is a wannabe rapper named “The Crocodile of Wall Street”? Can’t make that up… But she’s been free on a $3 million bond since her arrest. She faces max 5 years in prison, most likely will do no time or a small bit, plus some community service. Cool story, huh?

The amount the DoJ seized when they got arrested was about 94,000 BTC out of ~120,900. That’s a lot more left to live on for at least a couple of generations. What’s more interesting to notice is the fact that when the BTC was stolen in 2016, it was worth $70 million. Now, it’s about $4.5 billion (yes, with a B). Funny how they were caught now and not earlier, huh?

Initially they used a dark web exchange to lose their tracks and get small amounts out. But that exchange got busted by the police. Then they used different services from the dark web and what is known as “mixing” or “coinjoining” operations to lose their trail. It worked for laundering a few hundred million dollars. Then they bought a “Walmart gift card that was used to pay for Ubers and a Playstation”. Theeeeereee ya gooooo! So they got caught because the blockchain is transparent af and they used traditional off ramps aka banks to get precious dollars for their bitcoin. And then they bought a Walmart gift card. This ending couldn’t have been better, Qrafty has to admit.

The HEX drama continues to unfold. Unfortunately, the ones who are getting hurt in this are bag holder and people who bought into the personality cult of the HEX founder.

Qrafty isn’t a judge to tell if the project is a scam or not. The most important thing is that people’s funds don’t get spent to the whims of others, as it’s almost always the case in crypto (and tradfi, let’s not be nuns here).

There’s also the problem that the SEC left a void in terms of guidance and information regarding crypto related financial products. They waited it out and left the market to develop without guidance and baited builders into thinking that everything is ok. After that they came out swinging left and right and imposed extreme measures in a market they were charged of overseeing and counseling.

A Manhattan judge disturbs the sleep of crypto enthusiasts by refusing to budge and claiming that some cryptocurrencies are securities regardless of the way they were sold.

Whoaaaa buddy! Where is this coming from?! Didn’t XRP win this???

True, XRP had a favorable ruling in its case, at the same Manhattan federal court (same court, not same judge, mkay?). For XRP and Ripple, the court states that when it was sold directly to investors, it was sold as a security; when it was sold on secondary markets like exchanges, directly to private individuals, it wasn’t sold as a security.

Basically, the Court makes a distinction betwen XRP being a security or commodity by making a distinction between XRP being sold to institutions who are professionals in the field and understand the risks, and private individuals who don’t have the required financial prowess and have a more gambling approach to investing. Plus the fact that XRP was created before the creation of Ripple the company, which helps the case a lot for them.

But this new judge is talking about the Terra Labs case and Do Kwon, another imbecile at the same level of SBF, maybe even higher. It’s hard for Qrafty to tell from the clouds of imbecility. Really hard… In this situation, the Luna coin doesn’t pass the Howey test because it was issued by Terra Labs and has all the characteristics of a security.

So Qrafty says let’s wait it out and see how this evolves.

There’s an old saying in crypto coming from TradFi traders: sell in May and go away… but remember to come back in September. With a few exceptions when a certain category of coins has some massive runs (DeFi summer, anyone?) usually crypto markets slow down during the late stages of the summer.

In September we usually see some pain as prices tend to fall sharply due to the constant lack of liquidity and low volatility.. This is usually the time to pay attention and add to your portfolio if you are looking to get in.

And then there’s a recovery : during the late autumn/winter season where volatility kicks back in because most coins have reached their technical levels and either bounce or go into the abyss of crypto forgetfulness. I know that sounds like a Harry Potter stupid joke, but it’s a real place where crypto coins go to die. Qrafty knows… it’s sad but true…

But hey, on the bright side there’s always a bunch of new shitcoins coming up , just poofing into existence like a magical unicorn at a disco party. Qrafty has seen some coins go “poof!” twice (get it?), a lot of times! That’s rampant in bull runs, you will need to be prepared. Don’t ape and don’t trust anyone, not even Qrafty! Even though Qrafty is an honest badger full of love and respect for you, the reader, and will always share his biased opinion in the spirit of educating and protecting your interest in the market (which is not to lose money).

Yes, biased opinion and an honest one. No one is unbiased and a lot are liars. Remember that.


NO PAPER HANDS ON MOON!

In other tide pods… I mean tidbits, news! Other crypto news!

Bringing the crypto IQ up! Today: CEX vs DEX

Centralized exchanges (CEX) are like big, fancy, posh hotels with a "Bossy Bartender" calling all the shots. You give your money to the Bartender, and he keeps your drinks safe (well, most of the time). He's like the middleman, but he can be a bit greedy, charging you hefty fees and sometimes deciding which drinks you can have. He can also be robbed and your drinks are gone (hacked)Not cool, right?

Now, enter the decentralized exchange, the "Wild West Saloon" of crypto trading. Here, there's no Bossy Bartender! It's a free-for-all shindig, and you deal directly with other cowboys (and cowgirls) to swap drinks. It's like a trust-based hoedown, secured by smart contracts! No centralized authority means more freedom, lower fees, and less chance of getting thrown out if you don't follow strict rules. Thing is, you have to deal with a lot of personalities, and you don’t know who’s gonna deceive you or not.

Advantages of the "Bossy Bartender" (centralized): You're in a safe and controlled environment. Liquidity is usually higher, and you get customer support if something goes wrong. But, watch out for high fees, potential hacks, and loss of privacy.

Advantages of the "Wild West Saloon" (decentralized): Freedom, baby! Lower fees, faster transactions, and you're in charge of your own drinks (funds). But, it can get wild, so be cautious of scams and ensure you double-check every transaction since there's no Bartender to save you.

So, whether you prefer the fancy Bossy Bartender or the wild, lawless Saloon depends on your risk appetite and desire for control! 🤠🍻

GameFi

Gala Games is one of the few names in the GameFi space (GameFi meaning blockchain gaming which is focused on rewarding the players with money for playing) that actually has a product and wants to do its job.

This move should increase the popularity of GameFi and blockchain as a whole and should add more users to the two games that Gala is lauching with Elixir. Good luck and good speed to them!

That’s it for today! Qrafty wishes you to live each moment as if you are listening to the music you love most! Wahaha!