Archive: crypto

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One of the trickier elements of crypto portfolio construction is knowing when to diversify and when to double down on elements that are working. In order to be successful, you have to do both. For the past 12 months, we’ve focused mostly on diversification. We needed to add exposure to decentralized finance (DeFi), interoperability protocols, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and more. Last month, we doubled down when we added GMX as our second DEX position.
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Crypto Monitor: Understanding Institutional DeFi

By Early Investing on January 20, 2023

You’ve likely heard of decentralized finance, or DeFi. Now get ready for… institutional DeFi! Institutional DeFi refers to large institutions using DeFi protocols to tokenize real-world assets with regulatory compliance and institutional-level controls for consumer protection.  Institutional DeFi comes with a lot of advantages — including…

Keep an Eye on Ethereum’s Next Big Upgrade

By Yasmin Sharbaf on January 20, 2023

Crypto Market Musings Crypto investors might finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Over the past month, bitcoin has risen 25% to reach around $21,000 as of this writing, and ethereum is up by nearly 30% at a price of $1,560.  This…
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Banking regulators are worried about crypto. Again. On January 3, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a joint statement warning about “significant” risks crypto assets may pose to the broader banking system. “It…
Crypto Market Musings Despite recent regulatory slip-ups, Coinbase looks like the youngest sibling of the crypto exchange family that can do no wrong. In case you missed it, last week Coinbase reached a $100 million settlement over violations related to anti-money…
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Behind the Pick: A DEX for the Ages

By Early Investing on January 6, 2023

GMX is the latest addition to the Crypto Asset Strategies portfolio. GMX is a rising star in the world of decentralized exchanges. In November, GMX surpassed Uniswap in terms of daily fees earned. And it has performed remarkably well during the…
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Crypto in 2022: The Good, the Bad and the Weird

By Early Investing on December 29, 2022

It’s been a crazy year for the crypto market. We saw high-profile scandals, bankruptcies, hacks and a lot of reduced crypto prices.  We also saw the Ethereum Merge go off without a hitch. We saw the Ukrainian government…

Three Ways 2023 Can Benefit Investors

By Allison Brickell on December 28, 2022

We’re just a few days away from the start of a new year. So I’m reflecting on all the things that have happened in 2022… and all the things that may happen in 2023.  2022 was a rough year for the stock, startup and crypto markets.
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New Pick: A Storm-Proof Decentralized Exchange Crypto

By Vin Narayanan on December 22, 2022

There are many things we can learn from the FTX debacle. First, and most importantly, FTX’s core problems had little to do with crypto. Fraud, mismanagement, hubris and lack of board oversight — among other things — created an unnecessary crypto crisis where…
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Crypto Monitor: BlockFi Goes Under, Blames FTX

By Early Investing on December 9, 2022

The ripple effects of the FTX collapse still aren’t over. Crypto lender BlockFi filed for bankruptcy on November 28. BlockFi had been relying on a $400 million line of credit from crypto exchange FTX — and we all know what happened to FTX. …

SBF and the Fear of Future AI Overlords

By Olivia Strobl on December 9, 2022

Crypto Market Musings Over the past week, bitcoin and ethereum have begun to stabilize following the spectacular collapse of FTX and the fall of crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). BTC prices have hovered around $17,000, and ETH prices have hovered around $1,300. According to…
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Crypto Monitor: Sports Tokens Rally Around the World Cup

By Early Investing on December 2, 2022

It’s an exciting time for soccer fans around the world. The FIFA World Cup is underway in Qatar. But sports fans aren’t the only ones who are rallying. Sports tokens also rallied ahead of the World Cup in mid-November — including Chiliz (CHZ), which…

What DeFi Needs to Mature Into a Thriving Ecosystem

By Vin Narayanan on December 2, 2022

Crypto Market Musings There are two things driving the market right now: FTX collateral damage and potential interest rate hikes. Every time an FTX domino falls — like BlockFi declaring bankruptcy a few days ago — crypto…
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Angel Insider: Investing Lessons From the FTX Disaster

By Early Investing on November 29, 2022

The FTX disaster is still getting top billing in the financial press these days. The crypto exchange — which was backed by major venture capital (VC) investors — collapsed after news broke that founder Sam Bankman-Fried had been secretly moving customer money to his trading firm and blowing…
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Crypto Insider: FTX News Goes From Bad to Worse

By Early Investing on November 28, 2022

The bad news about FTX just keeps coming. Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF, told CNBC he is still trying to lock down a multibillion-dollar deal to bail out his bankrupt crypto exchange — a deal that seems highly unlikely to happen given SBF’s tarnished reputation. And we recently found…
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FTX and the Crypto Regulations Still to Come

By Vin Narayanan on November 21, 2022

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in the crypto market as it tries to sort through the fallout of crypto exchange FTX filing for bankruptcy. For a more detailed account of how it happened, please read this update I wrote…