Qrafty thinks BlackRock needs Bitcoin, Reddit cancels magic internet points and Mr. Biden needs $100 billion

***Qrafty smiling the biggest smile*** Aloha, crypto curious! I am Qrafty - the crypto lovin’ honey badger 🦡 !

Welcome to Coinqraft – the daily crypto newsletter for busy but curious people who don’t have time for the crypto drama!🌟

🦡   Qrafty has fresh bits from the crypto jungle, so let’s dive in: 📰 🌟

1. BlackRock Needs Bitcoin

2. Uniswap Will Charge A Fee

3. Reddit Cancels Community Points

Bonus: President Biden will ask for $100 billion

Larry Fink Needs Bitcoin

In a recent interview, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, says crypto rally represents a “flight to quality” driven by real economic factors, rather than false speculation.

He also mentioned that he’s seeing demand for Bitcoin from around the world.

That’s all nice and dandy from Mr. Fink, but Qrafty likes to ask questions and understand the why behind people’s statements, especially when it comes to financial interests.

It’s important to note that BlackRock, State Street & Vanguard are like the Avengers of the financial world, only with a bit more money and a lot less spandex. These three represent arguably the most powerful cartel in human history, being a major shareholder in over 85% of S&P500 companies.

ETFs create supply, not demand for crypto. ETFs are a legal layer of financial products built on top of digital tokens.

So, remember, when you hear the buzz about ETFs and their supposed impact on the crypto market, take it with a grain of salt. These financial products might be all the rage, but they're not the golden goose they're made out to be. They're just another cog in the wheel of the financial machine with the sole purpose to profit at all costs.

Also, looking at the chart below, it’s very interesting to note that Blackrock & Friends might need Bitcoin more than Bitcoin needs them. The performance of the S&P500 is negative if you remove the big 7 tech companies from the equation (Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Tesla, Nvidia, Apple and Google).

Wall Street has only one religion: growth at all costs. Where can growth come from considering the economic environment? The stock market is overextended and breathing heavily. Yup, you guessed it: crypto is the answer, but it’s framed as if Blackrock is the answer for crypto.

Futures ETFs aren’t really that big of a deal because they don’t require the funds to hold the underlying asset. Spot ETFs though are the important ones, as these require the funds to buy the asset, like Bitcoin or Ethereum. This is what can drive the market upwards, as it adds real liquidity into the buy side of the orderbooks, creating upwards pressure on the price.

It’s important to realize though that the amount of marketing money they will spend to advertise those ETFs will be fabulously big, essentially bringing in the demand for that huge ETF supply.

At the same time, please consider that this game isn’t meant to be predictable or for the little guy to win. It’s meant to bankrupt anyone who’s not part of the cartel and enrich the insiders. If you thought crypto was hard and full of scams until now, buckle up: it’s going to get orders of magnitude uglier and nastier.

🙃 Qrafty hopes that today’s main story brought brave badgery value to you! Now it’s time for a break, you deserve a bit of fun! 😇 👇️

Uniswap To Charge 0.15% Fee

This little nuance comes into play when you engage in trading on Uniswap's web or mobile wallet. It's like tipping, but not the kind you do at a fancy restaurant. Think of it as a contribution towards the Uniswap Labs development team's efforts.

They're not just the custodians of the Uniswap ecosystem; they're also the folks who make sure the lights are on, servers are humming, and the platform is running smoothly.

The tokens they've listed as eligible for this fee are ETH, USDC, WETH, USDT, DAI, WBTC, agEUR, GUSD, LUSD, EUROC, and XSGD. These contributions help sustain and enhance the Uniswap experience for all users.

Are Coinbase Volumes THAT Low?

Much like Robinhood, Coinbase's financial success is heavily dependent on its active traders. These platforms have tapped into the somewhat impulsive nature of their users, essentially capitalizing on the natural human tendency to take risks and, dare I say, enjoy a bit of financial thrill. But this looks a lot like desperation 👇️ 

For Coinbase, this translates into significant revenue generation. As users engage in frequent trading, Coinbase rakes in fees and commissions, which, let's be honest, are the lifeblood of these platforms. But here's where it gets interesting, and maybe a tad bit concerning.

In their pursuit of profit, Coinbase might inadvertently encourage users to play fast and loose with their investments. The allure of quick profits and the excitement of the crypto market can sometimes lead to impulsive, speculative behaviors. And that could potentially come at the expense of the users. Remember: Coinbase has an obligation towards its owners, not its users, just like Robinhood.

Reddit Says No More Magic Internet Points

Crypto has the best doom charts, no question about it. MOON, the r/Cryptocurrency subreddit token, took an 85% nosedive after Reddit announced that it will be shutting down their three year old community points program.

Along with that, BRICKS (belonging to r/Fortnite community) and DONUT (belonging to r/ethtrader community) went diving head first into crypto Hades and both lost over 60%. Qrafty has a feeling they will lose more in the next days.

This community points program was meant to reward users and creators who contributed to Reddit communities, incentivized good behavior and overall better content.

The reason for this decision is that it became extremely hard to scale, since the project was based on Ethereum. Considering the fees and technical difficulties, the Reddit team decided to shut down the project altogether.

EU Passes Crypto Tax Data Sharing Rules

Brace yourselves for the expansion of government oversight into the wild, wild world of cryptocurrencies. The powers that be have decided to cast a wider net, and this time, they're not just catching fish – they're scooping up everything from stablecoins to NFTs, and even those DeFi tokens we've grown to love.

The Eighth Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8), or as I like to call it, "Crypto's Worst Nightmare," is the latest scheme that crypto companies have to deal with. Under this directive, they're forced to spill the beans on all the juicy details about their customers' holdings.

And guess what? This information will be shared faster than you can say "privacy breach" with tax authorities. Big Brother is watching, and he's got a direct line to your crypto wallet.

But that's not all! The European Commission, the mastermind behind this plot, wants you to know that DAC8's crypto provisions are just the icing on the cake. They've also whipped up some tasty regulations like the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) and anti-money laundering rules under the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR). It's like a three-course meal of crypto control, and they're serving it up with a side of bureaucracy.

The noose is tightening, and the crypto world as we know it is changing. Whether you think it's a necessary evil or an infringement on our financial freedom, one thing's for sure – the government has a seat at the crypto table, and it's getting comfier by the day, while ours… well I’m not sure if we ever had a seat at the table.

Hey hey 🙃 Qrafty hopes you are enjoying the experience here and would like to regularly get Qrafty’s letters!

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Tomorrow is like a software update we didn't ask for, and it better come with some patch notes for all these life glitches!

Qrafty’s Thought Of The Day

Other Stories

Binance US suspends all USD withdrawals

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President Biden to ask $100 billion for Ukraine and Israel

President Biden is set to seek $100 billion in funding for both Ukraine and Israel. In the wake of the conflict with Hamas, Israel's shekel has dipped to its weakest point against the U.S. Dollar in eight years.

FTX co-founder admits Sam Bankman-Fried used millions of stolen customer funds to donate to US politicians.

No surprises here. Nishad Singh, who has previously admitted guilt in the FTX trial, gave testimony alleging that SBF utilized pilfered funds for political contributions. Singh claimed he was aware of approximately $8 billion in missing customer funds at FTX.

Market Whispers

Today Bitcoin it didn't go up but it didn't go down either.

It played all day around $28,400, with a high of $28,600 and a low of $28,070. Not much to analyze honestly... looking at the daily, a few hours before daily close, it looks like it wants to go higher.

Ideally we'll get first a retest of $27k, or at least $27,5k. If it holds, long it to $28,4k - $29,2k. And the other way around, if it goes from here to $29,2 - $29,5k, there's a short for Qrafty.

Qrafty ends channeling his inner trader.

Today is NATIONAL PAY BACK A FRIEND DAY!

That’s all from Qrafty 🦡 for today! Qrafty thanks you and wishes you to live each moment as if you are listening to the music you love most!

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