Sebastian Sinclair

Coinbase stock has been on a tear this year, outperforming both the broader tech sector and bellwether digital asset bitcoin.



COIN is now up about 60% since the start of 2023, with a market capitalization of around $12.2 billion. The US-traded crypto exchange was changing hands for around $56 a share through Tuesday’s closing bell in New York.&nbsp;



US technology heavyweights have likewise benefited this month from long-awaited macro tailwinds that have slowed — if not reversed — 2022’s carnage across digital and traditional assets.&nbsp;



But not on Coinbase’s level.&nbsp;



A prominent dollar-weighted tech stock index, trading on the New York Stock exchange under the ticker <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/NYFANG:IND#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NYFang</a>, has meanwhile recorded 16% year-to-date gains — leaving the index 44% behind Coinbase’s 60% pop over the same period. 



Not to mention that the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index, a collection of equally weighted tech stocks, has also posted a smaller increase: around 11%.&nbsp;



The former index tracks the showing of some of the largest US tech equities, including Meta Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google. Its performance has marked a notable rebound from its downturn last year — but one still much weaker relative to Coinbase.



COIN booked a slight decline in after-hours trading on Tuesday, dipping to $52.48, good for a -1.8% decline, <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/coin/after-hours-trades" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> show. Still, the exchange’s shares are up more than 23% compared to <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the price of bitcoin,</a> which has soared 37% year to date. 



Crypto’s blue-chip equity eked out a close above a previous daily high near $50 last week, its highest point in more than 40 days. It’s a welcome reprieve for the embattled exchange, which has taken hits from the broader industry sell-off that dragged down scores of its publicly traded digital asset peers last year, including crypto miners.&nbsp;



The collapse of the likes of Genesis, Three Arrows Capital, FTX and Voyager exacerbated selling pressure throughout 2022 amid concerns over the exchange’s path forward — and especially its correlation to shell-shocked digital assets.



Market participants by then had also grown wary of trusting centralized entities with their funds.&nbsp;



Speculation over the exchange and its stock came to a head by mid-December as it continued to post <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-stock-hits-sixth-all-time-low-this-month" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consecutive daily dips</a> before reaching an all-time low of $31.55 by Jan. 6.



Following a jump on Jan. 9 — which more or less coincided with several of bitcoin’s price spikes — exchange sentiment was bolstered by its agreement to settle with <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-stock-up-after-settlement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York state regulators</a>.



Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong promised shareholders in August he would <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-ceo-touts-subscriptions-to-curb-reliance-on-trading-fees" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diversify his company’s revenue</a> by moving away from its reliance on trading fees. 



“It’s never as good as it seems, it’s never as bad as it seems,” Armstrong told CNBC at the time over questions on the macroeconomic outlook and the exchange’s financial conditions. “We try not to get focused on short-term ups and downs, we just zoom out.” 



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Coinbase Stock Crushing Blue-chip Tech Index by 44%

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_6230ea7cf8372" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>“It looks like [the vast majority of] FAANG engineers and Web3 founders [want] to build in DAO tooling,” Alliance’s Qiao Wang told Blockworks</li>
 <li>Ink Finance, specifically, facilitates mergers and acquisitions for DAOs</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



As the number of DAOs has exploded this year to 4,832 — just the first 216 in assets under management (AUM) are responsible for $9.1 billion in Web3 assets — so has their pursuit of funding and exposure.



The uptick has been good news for one Web3 accelerator: Alliance. A record number of DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) and related startups will pitch to investors during <a href="https://twitter.com/alliancedao/status/1500896793453862913?s=20&amp;t=Nymm5mnpl2Ojuwcc1L7ZeA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alliance’s Demo Day</a> on Wednesday, Qiao Wang, a contributor, told Blockworks.



Last April, total DAO AUM was just $932 million, according to data dashboard <a href="http://deepdao.io/organizations">DeepDAO.io</a>. Specifically, 10.3% of those presenting at the Demo Day will be related to the nascent space.



“On the DAO side of things, we’re seeing an overwhelming number of [them],” Wang said. “It looks like [the vast majority of] FAANG engineers or Web3 founders [want] to build in DAO tooling.”



The startup accelerator accepted less than 5% of applicants this year. The “main goal” for roughly half the startups is to raise money, according to Wang.



Prospective applicants are considered based on the “caliber of the founders,” and “if they’re building something truly unique,” Wang said, adding that the criteria are not “absolute requirements” for acceptance.



“I don&#8217;t just look at credentials [of founders],” Wang said. ”It&#8217;s also based on an interview with myself and other partners of Alliance. [The] second thing is whether or not they&#8217;re building something novel.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Alliance Presenters</h4>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li><a href="https://azuro.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Azuro</a> is a blockchain-betting protocol governed by a DAO. The startup bills itself as a way to replace traditional bookmakers with independent data providers, front-end operators and liquidity providers.</li><li><a href="https://www.raincards.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rain</a> is advertised as the “credit card for DAOs,” aiming to make cryptocurrency spendable without a centralized exchange.&nbsp;</li><li><a href="http://inkfinance.xyz" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ink Finance</a> facilitates mergers and acquisitions for DAOs in need of financing — comparable to a Web3 investment bank.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Yury Lifshits, chief executive of DAO infrastructure company Superdao, told Blockworks the startup will be presenting Wednesday to “encourage people to use [their] services.” Superdao <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/dao-startup-raises-10-5-million/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raised $10.5 million</a> in January, raising its valuation to $160 million.&nbsp;



The number of DAOs in Alliance’s cohort, Lifshits said, will continue to grow, because the number of DAOs in Web3 will do the same. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“We estimate that up to one million DAOs will be created by the end of this calendar year,” he said.</blockquote>



Investing in new structures like DAOs with less lengthy track records always has some risk, general partner at VC firm Initialized Capital Brett Gibson told Blockworks. 



“DAOs are new…but there are a lot of different types of DAOs, DAO governance structures and relationships to the legal system,” Gibson said. “So if you believe in the ability of token economics to align incentives and believe the DAO is well structured and governed, a lot of risk is mitigated.”



One DAO in particular was plastered over mainstream headlines last year when a group of crypto investors raised $49 million in a bid to buy a copy of the US Constitution at Sotheby’s auction house.&nbsp;



The group — dubbed ConstitutionDAO — later <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-constitutiondao-raises-49m-to-buy-a-copy-of-the-us-constitution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lost the bid</a> to hedge fund billionaire <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/citadel-ceo-ken-griffin-outbid-a-group-of-crypto-investors-for-copy-of-u-s-constitution-11637352087" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kenneth Griffin</a> and dissolved.



DAOs, however, have had their own pitfalls as well — despite the surge in popularity.



“There have been DAOs that I’ve been a part of that have accidentally sent millions of dollars’ worth of tokens to the wrong address and then they were just lost forever,” Will Papper, co-founder of Web3 investing DAO Syndicate, told <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/24/hundreds-of-y-combinator-alumni-join-crypto-collective-to-back-web3-startups/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TechCrunch.</a> “We have a lot of protections in place to help users, but there’s always a tradeoff between the protection we give them and the flexibility.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

The Y Combinator of Web3 Attracts Record Number of DAO Startups

Sam Martin

<div id="highlights-block_617725d07bf3f" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>ETH continues its hot streak as usage continues to explode</li>
 <li>Bitcoin&#8217;s supply distribution isn&#8217;t as concentrated as many people claim</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



ETH, the &#8220;triple point asset&#8221;, has surpassed $4,500 on further adoption and declining issuance. 



BTC supply distribution is not what it seems at first glance. 



Shares of FAANG stocks appear to be in the control of just a few large institutions from a cursory view.



There are a few updates on various Bitcoin ETF filings. 



Gary Vaynerchuk holds an estimated $83.265 million portfolio of NFTs. His wallet can be viewed on <a href="https://zapper.fi/account/gary.veefriends.eth/nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zapper</a> and Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gary-vaynerchuk-how-he-bought-59-cryptopunks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> on it earlier today. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Latest in Macro:</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>S&amp;P 500: 4,630, +.37%</li><li>NASDAQ: 15,649, +.34%</li><li>Gold: $1,787, -.32%</li><li>WTI Crude Oil: $83.51, -.64%</li><li>10-Year Treasury: 1.545%, -.028%</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Latest in Crypto:</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>BTC: $63,403, +3.40%</li><li>ETH: $4,507, +3.83%</li><li>ETH/BTC: .0714, +.70%</li><li>BTC.D: 43.87%, +.53%</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">ETH bulls are in control</h3>



ETH can be viewed as a triple point asset, <a href="https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/the-triple-point-blockchain-market" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to a newsletter released today from our friends over at Bankless. 



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Store of Value<ul><li>&#8220;Due to its inherent nativity to Ethereum, ETH operates as a&nbsp;<a href="https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/eth-is-irreplaceable">pristine collateral</a>&nbsp;asset inside of DeFi. The settlement assurances that ETH provides as collateral gives it favorable economic treatment as a collateral asset. We can see this as virtually every DeFi protocol supports ETH as a collateral type.&#8221;</li></ul></li><li>Capital Asset<ul><li>&#8220;Ethereum secures itself by Proof of Stake where ETH is that ‘stake’. Validators stake their ETH on their promise to correctly validate the blockchain and, in return, are paid in ETH for their services.&#8221;</li></ul></li><li>Commodity<ul><li>&#8220;Ethereum blockspace is a commodity that powers all parts of the Ethereum economy. It is the energy that powers the smart contracts and operates the network. Using ETH, you pay for the computational resources that are required of the Ethereum network to process your transaction. It is the commodity money that exists inside of the Ethereum economy.&#8221;</li></ul></li></ul>



ETH has breached $4,500 and order books from major exchanges paint a bullish picture. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10256" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png?w=386 386w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png?w=392 392w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png?w=329 329w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulls-in-control-1024x683.png?w=1200 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Source: intotheblock.com</figcaption></figure>



ETH issuance continues to decline thanks to the upgrade EIP-1559 that was implemented in August, causing the base fee when transacting on the Ethereum network to be burned. This makes ETH less inflationary. 



Many investors anticipate the ETH issuance to become deflationary when <a href="https://ethereum.org/en/eth2/merge/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the merge</a> completes in the first half of next year, which will mark the end of proof-of-work for the Ethereum network as it completes its transition to proof-of-stake.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10266" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png?w=386 386w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png?w=392 392w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png?w=329 329w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-issuance-declines-1024x683.png?w=1200 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Source: intotheblock.com</figcaption></figure></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">ETH holders are all in profit</h3>



Another catalyst for ETH going forward could be increased institutional adoption. Currently, a vast majority of open interest in the futures market and investment-grade products revolve around BTC. With ETH micro futures launching on the CME on <a href="https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/cryptocurrencies/ether/micro-ether.html?redirect=/microether#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">December 6th</a> and many <a href="https://twitter.com/JSeyff/status/1455528910804946947?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysts expecting</a> the approval of a futures-backed Ethereum ETF over the coming months, a flood of capital waiting on the sidelines may pour in.



The percentage of ETH holders that are in a state of profit is hovering near all-time highs, practically at 100% as the triple point asset remains in price discovery. It turns out there has never been a bad day to buy ETH since its initial coin offering in <a href="https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/initial-coin-offering-explained-ethereum-ico" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2014</a>. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10267" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png?w=386 386w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png?w=392 392w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png?w=329 329w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ETH-adds-in-profit-1024x683.png?w=1200 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Source: intotheblock.com</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Bitcoin supply distribution</h3>



<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-25/bitcoin-still-concentrated-in-few-hands-study-finds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Critics</a> often times like to use the data publicly available to claim that the BTC supply is concentrated and is therefore not adequately decentralized money.



At first glance of the on-chain data, this would appear correct. &#8220;18.7M of 18.9M total bitcoins are held by the top 10% of bitcoin addresses while 17.3M are held by the top 1% of addresses. But this is very misleading when taken at face value as many of the largest addresses are entities holding bitcoin on behalf of thousands, if not millions, of individuals,&#8221; a Coin Metrics <a href="https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/coin-metrics-state-of-the-network-issue-127" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> said. 



When looking at the balance of BTC on exchanges from <a href="https://studio.glassnode.com/metrics?a=BTC&amp;category=Exchanges&amp;m=distribution.BalanceExchanges" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Glassnode</a>, there are roughly 2.475 million BTC, or approximately 13% of the circulating supply, held in their wallets. This would lead someone looking at the on-chain data to believe that the supply is being held by an individual, when in all reality that is not the case.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10283" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/exchange-balances-1024x576.png?w=1800 1800w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Source: Glassnode</figcaption></figure></div>



There is also a large number of BTC being held on behalf of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) investors, resulting in a large concentration of the supply being held in a small number of wallet addresses. 



Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is another black hole for BTC supply that could be deceiving at first glance. 



The Coin Metrics report continued, &#8220;225K BTC is &#8216;wrapped&#8217; as a token (WBTC) that can be used within the Ethereum ecosystem. WBTC tokens are backed 1:1 and redeemable for the underlying BTC. The BTC is effectively held in custody by a few addresses that appear like large holders when in reality 41K Ethereum addresses have a positive balance of WBTC.&#8221;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="380" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.43.16-PM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10284" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.43.16-PM.png?w=640 640w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.43.16-PM.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.43.16-PM.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.43.16-PM.png?w=440 440w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.43.16-PM.png?w=369 369w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.43.16-PM.png?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption>Source: Coin Metrics</figcaption></figure></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">FAANG outstanding shares supply concentration</h3>



It is also worth noting that many traditional financial instruments appear to have a high concentration of supply held by a select few entities, but a little bit of due diligence will quickly uncover that it is far from the truth. 



The percentage of FAANG stocks held by top institutions would be alarming to those who don&#8217;t understand that millions of investors gain exposure to their holdings through various investment products such as ETFs. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FAANG-1024x633-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10289"/><figcaption>Source: Coin Metrics</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Bitcoin ETF updates</h3>



The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moved back the deadline to make a decision on the proposed Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund by 60 days (from Nov. 8 to Jan. 7, 2022), according to <a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2021/34-93489.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a disclosure</a> published on Monday.



The differentiating factor between Valkyrie&#8217;s proposed ETF would be that it holds spot BTC as opposed to currently listed, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bito-on-track-to-be-first-fund-in-history-to-hit-1b-in-aum-in-two-days/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BITO</a>, which is backed by futures contracts traded on the CME. 



“We believe this a positive step because it means the agency is taking the time to deliberate and wholly consider the merits of such a product coming to the market,” Leah Wald, CEO of Valkyrie Funds, told Blockworks. “Given this expanded window, we are eager to use this as an opportunity to further collaborate with the regulator to help alleviate any concerns they may have and hopefully realize a positive outcome sometime next year.”



The postponement comes about two weeks before competing fund manager VanEck’s proposed physically backed bitcoin ETF <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/vaneck-ceo-hopes-sec-will-make-that-leap-in-approving-its-bitcoin-etfs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reaches its last deadline</a> — meaning the SEC cannot again delay its decision — on Nov. 14.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)</h3>



Gary Vaynerchuk holds an estimated $83.265 million portfolio of NFTs. His wallet can be viewed on <a href="https://zapper.fi/account/gary.veefriends.eth/nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zapper</a> and Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gary-vaynerchuk-how-he-bought-59-cryptopunks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> on it earlier today. 



Trading data from <a href="https://opensea.io/rankings" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a> and <a href="https://solanalysis.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solanalysis</a> of some of the top Solana and Ethereum projects can be found in the photos below:



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="332" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10295" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-3.59.57-PM-1024x332.png?w=1230 1230w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Top Ethereum Projects</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="290" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10296" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-4.00.07-PM-1024x290.png?w=1213 1213w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Top Solana Projects </figcaption></figure></div>



If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I am looking forward to catching up tomorrow.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Are you a UK or EU reader that can&#8217;t get enough investor-focused content on digital assets? <a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/das-london/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join us</a>&nbsp;in London on November 15th and 16th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) London. Use code ARTICLE for £75 off your ticket.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/das-london/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buy it now</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>