by After a tumultuous month for the crypto industry in March, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) fell in April despite some volatility. The meteoric rise of memecoins such as PEPE made headlines, and First Republic, another mid-sized US bank, collapsed. However, based on current market sentiment, there is an impasse between markets and policymakers: while the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Jerome Powell, publicly states that interest rates are unlikely to fall this year, markets for risky assets such as cryptocurrencies, heavily priced at a turning point in the coming months.
In times like these, it is wise to delve into the fundamentals that will shape future market movements. Amidst an uncertain macroeconomic environment and the impending regulatory crackdown in the US, there are other notable developments that easily overshadow this dominant news.
The report is available for free at the Cointelegraph Research Terminal.
For those who want to better understand the various sectors of the crypto space, Cointelegraph Research publishes a monthly Investors Insights Report that covers venture capital, derivatives, decentralized finance (DeFi), regulation, and more. The monthly reports, compiled by leading experts on these various topics, are an invaluable tool for quickly understanding the current state of the blockchain industry.
The hype of NFT fades as memecoins take over
Collectible non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are one of the few sectors that have been very successful this month. Memecoins like PEPE may be partly responsible for this as they have garnered attention by printing staggering profits. BRC-20 tokens, a new abstraction built on the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, could also compete for cash receipts from traditional NFT collectibles dealers. Sellers have recently started to persistently outnumber buyers in NFT markets and this trend is likely to continue.
There are fears that the NFT market will start to decline as all important metrics such as volume and active portfolios plummet. NonFungible reported only 49,200 active wallets and $80,500 in sales this month. The wars in the NFT market coupled with declining enthusiasm around NFT are other factors driving this long-term development.
Despite the general collapse of the NFT market, a niche NFT sector that is gaining momentum is the NFT lending market. Since the beginning of 2022, the sector has recorded double-digit growth every month, which continued in April with a 16.13% increase in the number of new users.
Mining stocks outperform BTC
Each monthly Cointelegraph Research Trend Report provides information on the economics of mining and crypto stocks. For investors interested in increasing BTC exposure, mining stocks have historically been a popular option. While specific factors have negatively impacted individual stocks this month, the sector as a whole appears to have recovered from its 2022 bear market.
TeraWulf again had the highest gains as he continued his rally with another 85% increase in ratings. CleanSpark, IrisEnergy and BitDigital were other strong winners. It is worth noting that stocks in April outperformed BTC combined after lagging behind the previous month. Where Bitcoin only recorded a 2.8% close, the biggest crypto stocks, dominated by mining, recorded a 12.9%
Of course, elevated ratings in the mining industry are very sensitive to BTC price action. For those who believe in improving macroeconomic conditions for risky assets, these stocks can offer good entries as they were previously destroyed by the bear market. The stocks section of the monthly report tracks the fundamentals of the majors in the industry and thus changes our regular analysis of the economics of bitcoin mining.
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Dr. Demelza Hays is director of research at Cointelegraph. Hays has assembled a team of experts in finance, economics and technology to bring to market the best source of industry reporting and insightful analysis. The team uses APIs from various sources to provide accurate, actionable information and analysis.
With decades of combined experience in traditional finance, business, engineering, technology and research, the Cointelegraph Research team is perfectly positioned to put their combined talents to good use with the latest Investor Insights report.
Opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any person or any particular hedging or investment product.
