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In this week’s episode of Market Talks, we welcome Rekt Capital, a cryptocurrency analyst who shares macro research, commentary and technical analysis related to crypto markets. He publishes a popular newsletter and provides courses that help educate traders on how to make informed decisions when buying and selling cryptocurrencies. He has more than 328,000 followers across his various social media platforms, many of whom are prominent individuals, including big names like Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

First things first, we have officially entered Q4 2022 and, more importantly, October, which has historically been a bullish month for cryptocurrencies. We ask Rekt Capital if he thinks this trend is likely to continue or if we are headed toward more downside for Bitcoin (BTC). Will we stay above the $20,000 level or head toward $17,000? 

We take a look at where the Bitcoin bottom might lie by looking at historical data and analysis to try and figure out one of the main questions on everyone’s minds. We also discuss if Bitcoin needs a significant catalyst to finally break out of this bear market and what that could be.

There has been an increasing correlation between Bitcoin and the S&P 500, but how long will this go on, and is there a decoupling on the horizon? We’ve just witnessed a historic moment in crypto with the Ethereum Merge moving from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus. Many hoped this would be a shift in the current market trend, but it was a pretty uneventful transition, even price-wise. We get Rekt’s thoughts on this and also what he sees in the future for Ether (ETH).

Many are fearful of the current market conditions, with the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index being the lowest it’s ever been, but some might consider this a buying opportunity, especially considering that the United States Federal Reserve will have to pivot at some point and start easing the interest rates, which could potentially be bullish news for Bitcoin. Should you use this time to stack sats or stay on the sidelines? We’ve got the experts to break it down for you.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw its first trip above $20,000 on Oct. 4 as traders expected familiar resistance to cap gains.

Multi-week dollar lows fuel Bitcoin bulls

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/United States dollar climbing prior to the Wall Street open, up over 5% in 24 hours.

The pair had shaken off macroeconomic concerns at the start of the week, with trouble at Credit Suisse and the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict failing to slow performance.

Now, the short-term analysis focused on a run potentially topping out closer to $21,000 — as was the case late last month, as sell-side pressure at that level remained significant.

“20500-21000 is a sell zone. If price gets there, which should, don’t be too bullish,” popular trader Il Capo of Crypto told Twitter followers on the day.

Minor inflows for digital asset investment products over the last few weeks suggest a “continued hesitancy” towards crypto amongst institutional investors amid a slowdown of the U.S. economy. 

In the latest edition of CoinShares’ weekly “Digital Asset Fund Flows” report, Coinshares head of research James Butterfill highlighted stand-offish institutional sentiment towards crypto investment products, which saw "minor inflows" for the third week in a row.

“The flows remain low implying continued hesitancy amongst investors, this is highlighted in investment product trading volumes which were US$886m for the week, the lowest since October 2020.”

Between Sept. 26 and Sept. 30, investment products offering exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) saw the most inflows at just $7.7 million, with Ether (ETH) investment products close behind with $5.6 million worth of inflows. Short BTC products represented the only other notable inflows of $2.1 million.

These inflows were offset by more than $3.5 million worth of outflows for investment products offering exposure to altcoins such as Polygon (MATIC), Avalanche and Cardano (ADA), while multi-asset and Solana funds also shed $700,000 and $400,000 during that week.

Ganesh Swami, CEO of blockchain data aggregator Covalent says there continues to be an “intense demand” for on-chain data analysts, that is yet to be satisfied. 

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Swami said that analysts are in “intense demand” as there’s a “real need” for data experts to “make sense” of on-chain data, explaining:

“There is an unresolved backlog of unfilled data-driven roles. This demand is a testament to how eager blockchain and non-blockchain companies alike are to make sense of their own and competitors’ on-chain data.”

Swami explained that while the demand for on-chain data analysts has yet to eclipse their Web2 counterpart, the growth of stablecoin usage, lending, and decentralized finance (DeFi) products over the last 18 months has led to increasing demand for the job title.

Swami said similar to data analysts in traditional industries, on-chain data analysts can expect to analyze a company's “reach, retention and revenue” metrics, except, in this case, the intelligence would be found on-chain data across multiple blockchains.

Cathie Wood's investment firm, ARK Investment, is making its two actively managed crypto strategies available to registered investment advisors. The strategies will be available as separately managed accounts (SMA) through a collaboration with the digital asset platform Eaglebrook, the companies announced on October 3. 

The ARK Cryptocurrency Strategy aims to capitalize on the monetary revolution, said the companies in the statement, claiming that it "could serve as a strategic allocation in well-diversified portfolios."

Cathie Wood, ARK's founder and CEO, said:

"The strategies will be separately managed accounts (SMAs) designed to meet the needs of financial advisors, wealth managers, and their clients by offering direct ownership, low minimums, and portfolio reporting integration among other benefits."

This collaboration should allow Ark to expand its services beyond exchange-traded funds (ETFs). An SMA is a portfolio created by a financial advisor or investment firm for a single investor. On ETFs, investors own shares of the fund instead of the underlying securities.