Decentral Block Post

On Aug. 30, global investment bank UBS increased its view on the risk of the United States entering a recession within one year to 60%, up from 40% in June. According to economist Pierre Lafourcade, the latest data showed a 94% chance of the economy contracting, but added that it "does not morph into a full-blown recession."

Partially explaining the difference is the "extremely low levels" of non-performing loans, or defaults exceeding 90 days from credit borrowers. According to Citigroup Chief Executive Jane Fraser, the institution "feels very good about" liquidity and credit quality. Furthermore, Reuters states that the financial industry wrote off merely 0.1% of its loans in the 2Q.

The problem is that even in the now-improbable scenario of avoiding a generalized recession, companies will face diminishing earnings as surging inflation limits consumption and Central Banks increase interest rates while winding down their balance sheets. Either way, the pressure on corporate profits is huge and this puts pressure on stock prices.

The valuation dynamics for cryptocurrencies vastly differ from equities, corporate debt, and stock markets. The truth is that there are no set metrics or indicators to guide token prices. Market participants have different perspectives on the protocols and their use cases.

On the other hand, the stock market has battle-tested valuation indicators that have been consistently used for decades, pounded by analysts, pundits and investors. For instance, the Price / Earnings multiple measures how many years would take a company to generate enough profit to cover its current market capitalization.

Ether (ETH) is the second largest crypto by market capitalization and the absolute leader in decentralized applications by deposits. Becoming a victim of its own success, the network experienced a fee hike in November 2021 when the average transaction costs surpassed $50. 

That's precisely why the Merge is a critical step to implementing a fully functional scaling solution. The confirmation of a transition to a proof of stake (PoS) consensus was the main driver for the rally toward $2,000 on Aug. 15.

Investors were partially excited about the reduced issuing schedule and likely a transition to a deflationary scenario, but there's also the expectation of upcoming forks. As a result, hardforked coins may be awarded to Ether holders on different blockchains, even though there's no guarantee those will find traction or sufficient liquidity.

From one side, there's the temptation of free money and even bonus non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as the forked chain will initiate with the same state of the original Ethereum network, meaning each address will hold the exact same contents in terms of tokens and transaction history.

On the other hand, there's also a sense of disappointment after Ether’s agonizing 29% correction that took place after the $2,000 resistance proved to be more challenging than expected. It’s possible that as investors realized that the practical utility of the forks would be much lower than anticipated, the exuberant expectation of free money dissipated, and reality kicked in.

Ether (ETH) is the second largest crypto by market capitalization and the absolute leader in decentralized applications by deposits. Becoming a victim of its own success, the network experienced a fee hike in November 2021 when the average transaction costs surpassed $50. 

That's precisely why the Merge is a critical step to implementing a fully functional scaling solution. The confirmation of a transition to a proof-ofstake (PoS) consensus was the main driver for the rally toward $2,000 on Aug. 15.

Investors were partially excited about the reduced issuing schedule and likely a transition to a deflationary scenario, but there's also the expectation of upcoming forks. As a result, hard-forked coins may be awarded to Ether holders on different blockchains, even though there's no guarantee those will find traction or sufficient liquidity.

From one side, there's the temptation of free money and even bonus non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as the forked chain will initiate with the same state of the original Ethereum network, meaning each address will hold the exact same contents in terms of tokens and transaction history.

On the other hand, there's also a sense of disappointment after Ether’s agonizing 29% correction that took place after the $2,000 resistance proved to be more challenging than expected. It’s possible that as investors realized that the practical utility of the forks would be much lower than anticipated, the exuberant expectation of free money dissipated, and reality kicked in.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell back below $20,000 after the Aug. 30 Wall Street open as data showed hodlers selling at a loss.

June lows look increasingly attractive

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView captured the latest dive below the 2017 bull market peak for BTC/USD, with United States equities dropping in step.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.1% and 1.25% in the first hour, respectively, while BTC/USD shed 2.5% during a single hourly candle.

The latest moves came as no surprise to traders already wary of a deeper correction for the largest cryptocurrency. Previously, many had called for a retracement toward the macro lows seen in June.

For popular trader Crypto Ed, both Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) offered good opportunities for an upcoming short trade. In Bitcoin’s case, the target was $18,000 if the area of around $19,800 failed to hold.

Interoperability-focused blockchain Flare Network has partnered with software infrastructure firm Lena Instruments to implement a crowdfunding mechanism that lowers the risks associated with startup investing. 

Lena Instruments announced what it called a “CloudFunding" launchpad that lets Flare investors allocate a percentage of the rewards that they earned into investments to new crypto startups without moving their initial investments.

Apart from providing a low-risk investing solution for its contributors, the platform also aims to help projects that have launched on the platform have regular cash flows during the reward distribution periods.

Hugo Philion, the CEO of Flare Network, believes that the new mechanism is a good way for developers to get early access to community funding. He explained that this creates a “win-win situation” for all parties involved. He said:

“New projects get early access to community funding and support, and Flare token holders get the opportunity to join new exciting projects with zero risk to their principal.”