Daily News | Fed Meeting Looms Amid Banking Crisis, BTC Rallies to 9-Month High, and Arbitrum Airdrop Takes Spotlight

2023-03-20, 01:14

Crypto Daily Digest: Investor Uncertainty Looms as Federal Reserve Meeting Approaches Amidst Banking Crisis

Good morning, traders! Hope you had a good weekend. Let’s seize this Monday relentlessly and make the most of it! 🚀

On Monday, US equity futures rose while the dollar weakened slightly after a busy weekend in finance. The news of UBS Group AG’s acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG and central banks’ efforts to increase dollar liquidity were received positively.

Technology stocks received support as investors were concerned about the potential global economic recession that the banking crisis could trigger, forcing central banks to reverse course on monetary tightening.

However, there is uncertainty among investors as to whether the Federal Reserve will opt for another quarter-point hike or pause at its March meeting. Policymakers are striving to boost confidence levels after Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and the issues at Credit Suisse added to wider concerns over financial stability.

Despite issues within the digital asset space, Bitcoin reached a nine-month high, surpassing $28,000, due to turmoil in the banking sector, rising inflation rates, and Optimism towards the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. Ethereum and other altcoins also experienced a rally. Investors now view Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, despite previous evidence suggesting otherwise. Its correlation with the S&P 500 has weakened.

However, as the rise in Bitcoin occurred amidst turmoil in the banking sector, with some regional banks experiencing significant declines, regulators and key players are actively debating how to contain the contagion. Investors are anxiously waiting for the Fed’s decision on interest rates. Additionally, an anticipated airdrop of Arbitrum’s token is set to take place following the Fed’s announcement.

On the other hand, due to regulatory concerns and high exchange fees, half of crypto VCs’ portfolio companies are withholding token launches.

Topic of the Day: Arbitrum Foundation Receives Major Token Allocation in ARB Airdrop for Platform’s Long-Term Development

Offchain Labs’ Arbitrum project is a layer 2 scaling solution that aims to solve the scalability and high gas fee issues on the Ethereum network. The platform uses a technology called Optimistic Rollups, which allows for faster and cheaper transactions by aggregating them off-chain and then submitting them to the main Ethereum network as a single transaction.

The airdrop of the ARB governance token, coming this Thursday, is a significant step towards decentralization, as it will give community members a say in the governance of the platform. The ARB token will be used to vote on protocol upgrades, new feature proposals, and other governance decisions through a self-executing DAO.

The distribution of tokens is also noteworthy, with 12.75% of the total token supply going to community members. This move towards decentralization could potentially make the platform more resilient and less susceptible to centralization risks.

Furthermore, the fact that a large portion of the token supply (42.8%) is going to the Arbitrum Foundation is also significant. The foundation is a non-profit entity that will oversee the development and growth of the platform. This allocation of tokens is intended to provide long-term support for the platform’s development, which could help ensure its sustainability and future success.

The airdrop could potentially have an impact on the DeFi space, as the Arbitrum platform is a popular choice for DeFi developers looking to build scalable and efficient applications. The ARB token’s governance function could help ensure that the platform continues to meet the needs of the DeFi community, while the allocation of tokens to the Arbitrum Foundation could provide a stable foundation for the platform’s development. Overall, the airdrop is a positive development for the Arbitrum project and the wider DeFi ecosystem.

Arbitrum (ARB) TVL - $1.77 Bln



Arbitrum’s airdrop has been a highly anticipated event in the DeFi space for 2023, given that it is currently ranked as the fourth-largest chain by TVL volume. At present, ARB’s TVL is $1.77 billion, and it is gradually approaching its highest point of $2.35 billion, which was reached in November 2021.

Arbitrum is a fast-growing ecosystem that has attracted a range of exciting DeFi protocols. Among the top protocols in the ecosystem are GMX, Camelot, and Vela Exchange.

Despite lacking a governance token, Arbitrum has gained significant popularity among DeFi enthusiasts, resulting in consistent profitability over the past two years. In Q1 of 2023 alone, they earned a remarkable $1.65 million. In contrast, the Optimism ecosystem experienced a loss of $62 million during the same period. However, this single metric is merely an observable difference, and it does not necessarily imply that investing in Optimism is a poor decision.


Author: Peter L., Gate.io Researcher
*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
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