Welcome to Web3 pills, the daily crypto newsletter the keeps you safe from lions, tigers, and bear (markets).
Here are your ๐โs for today:
When will the bear market end?
Mango Market exploiter has a bold strategy
Trending Stories
NFT of the day
WHEN WILL THE BEAR MARKET END?
For those that are new to crypto, the past year will have tested your mental fortitude. Heck, even some of the crypto OGโs have started to lose their sanity.
Ever since we hit the high water mark of $69,000 per Bitcoin in November of last year, weโve been in โdown onlyโ mode with the exception of a few minor rallies.
This naturally has caused many people to begin asking if weโve hit the bottom, and when the reversal into a bull run will begin?
The truth is that no one truly knows when the tides will shift, however, there are some indicators we can look for that may suggest when the bottom is in.
The first is around interest rates. Itโs no secret that the Fedโs battle against inflation has crushed all risk-on assets including crypto. The federal funds rate is now up to 2.5% (from ~0% for the better part of last 2 decades). History tells us that the Fed could easily raise the federal funds rate to 4.5-5% to break inflation. Either way, once the Fed does officially pivot, it is difficult to see crypto continuing to drop much lower.
The second indicator is more internal to crypto, and that is the next Bitcoin halving event. Every so often, the Bitcoin network automatically cuts its emissions per block in half. This event is generally bullish for Bitcoin price, as is means the BTC supply increases more slowly, which reduces downward pressure on price. The next bitcoin halving is in January of 2024.
Iโll hedge by saying that the last major factor that could mark the shift is some type of black swan event or other major unforeseen event. For instance, if the War in Ukraine were to suddenly reach a conclusion, itโs possible to see markets rip back.
Or on the flip side, some major issue with a network like Bitcoin or Ethereum would further speed the market to its bottom, before reversing course until the next run. The same could be said for a significant miner capitulation event on Bitcoin.
Like I said before, itโs impossible to know exactly when this reversal will happen, my only advice is to stick it out or else youโll be kicking yourself when the next bull run does inevitably occur.
MANGO MARKET EXPLOITER HAS A BOLD STRATEGY
The Mango Market exploit is the crypto drama that keeps on giving. Last week, we covered how Mango, a leading DEX on Solana was exploited for $115 milllion. After the exploit, the perpetrator comically went into the governance forum and voted with the exploited funds for the DAO not to pursue criminal investigations.
Well it turns out that we now know who was behind the exploit. On Saturday, a man by the name of Avraham Eisenberg came out with a tweet thread explaining how and why his team had exploited Mango Markets:
Avraham claimed that all of the actions his team took were technically legal, and that he was working with the team on a settlement agreement. Rumors are, that the bounty is somewhere in the range of $47 million.
Other Twitter users were quick to point out that the actions that Avraham took might not even be legal after all, especially if it involved market manipulation in the process.
Even if the actions he took were legal, it doesnโt mean that they were morally right. Aside from crippling a top DeFi project on Solana, many Mango Market users as well as MNGO holders will have been hurt in the aftermath of this exploit.
This entire situation unfortunately represents a very cynical take on the entire Web3 space. It highlights the risks of what happens when all code and order book details are transparent, which increases attack vectors. It is a reminder that many of the teams in the space are still inexperienced and unprofessional (this vulnerability was disclosed months ago and never addressed). And lastly, it is yet another example of a bad actor doing a bad thing, and then going on to gloat about it on Twitter afterwards.
Since his original tweet thread, Avraham has been trolling with tweets like the one below, to the tune of thousands of likes and follows to reward his behavior:
Overall, this is not a good look for the crypto industry. When itโs all said and done, I hope we can learn something from this and also stop giving this ๐คก any more attention.
TRENDING ARTICLES
[Blockworks] Harmony Grant Controversy Illuminates Shortcomings in DAO Funding: Grant committees tend to favor network-building projects over technical ones, industry participants say.
[Decrypt] IRS 2022 Tax Guidelines to Treat NFTs as Stablecoins, Cryptocurrencies: New tax guidelines from the IRS mean that NFT holdings fall under the same tax regime as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
[Coindesk] Aptos Token Plunges in Trading Debut: FTX, Coinbase and Binance were among the first exchanges to list the buzzy new layer 1 token.
NFT OF THE DAY
CryptoPunks on Ethereum have long been considered the โgrailโ NFT collection. They were one of the first ever NFTs launched on the Ethereum network, and were the first project to kick off the PFP hype.
While other collections like Bored Apes have risen to prominence, CryptoPunks are generally still the most respected in OG circles. The bet many people are making is that these NFTs will appreciate in value the longer the Ethereum network stays around.
It doesnโt matter how many new collections there are, as people are always willing to pay a premium for early high quality art (just look at the fine art market).
Even if a CryptoPunk does not appreciate in value, thereโs no denying that rocking one as a PFP is still a flex, even in a bear market.
Above I have highlighted CryptoPunk #9476, which sold for a whopping 370 ETH the other day.