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Bitcoin retrenched last week somewhat as mixed economic and regulatory information continued to leave investors pondering market direction. 

Bitcoin traded above $22,500 early last week but saw a steep fall on Thursday on the back of negative regulatory news for the crypto sector from the US, plus fresh economic data casting doubt over central banks’ rate hike path. It is currently trading at around $21,600.

Ether saw similarly large falls on Thursday. Having traded above $1,650 midweek, it fell sharply on Thursday and has since settled into a trading range around $1,500. 
 

JPMorgan sees ‘deposit tokens’ in the future of crypto

Major investment bank JPMorgan has released a report detailing what it sees as one of the future trends for crypto-deposit tokens. Deposit tokens provide an alternative to stablecoins as they are issued by holding institutions rather than a third party. 

It is sort of akin to historic money issuance in which banks issued their own notes that were ultimately backed by a central bank. Remnants of that system can still be seen in Scotland where banks issue pound notes, and in Northern Ireland too.

Stablecoins have grown to become a crucial aspect of the crypto ecosystem in the past few years, but not without their issues. JPMorgan is in effect suggesting that these stablecoins be removed from the equation with deposit tokens functioning as digital, blockchain recorded versions of banking deposits. 

A crucial difference however is that stablecoins have to have some form of collateral to maintain the 1:1 value with the fiat currency they mirror, while deposit tokens theoretically don’t require any kind of collateral. 
 

Shopify launches blockchain tools

Major eCommerce platform Shopify has launched a suite of blockchain commerce tools for merchants on the platform, including ‘tokengating,’ more crypto wallet features, and other innovations.

Tokengating is perhaps the most interesting development here. Merchants on the platform can use this feature to say which token holders gain access to exclusive products such as NFT launches. This gives merchants the ability to reward loyalty or offer exclusive products to high-value customers. 

Blockchain technology is still in developmental phases in many ways, but clearly has innovations and new ideas emerging and expanding every day. Shopify is one of those brands you may or may not have heard of, but in fact, has an incredibly important background presence in many online retail offerings. 

We could soon see some major online retail firms adopting Shopify’s new blockchain suite to reward customers and offer other benefits. Major firms such as Gymshark, Kylie Cosmetics, Penguin Books, and others use the firm - so who knows where these functionalities could soon pop up. 
 

Is bitcoin back in a bull market?

While timing the market is never a particularly rewarding endeavor, there is increasing speculation over whether we’ve seen the worst of the fallout of the 2022 Crypto Winter. 

Chief executive of Pantera Capital Dan Morehead, says that bitcoin has turned the corner and is looking stronger for the year ahead. While Morehead’s comments can be marked as incidental, he does make an important point about the world’s largest cryptoasset.

Morehead points out that Pantera has been investing in bitcoin for over a decade, and has seen many ups and downs in its life cycle. The point here is that timing the behavior of an asset is generally speaking a futile exercise. 

What matters more is having a clear case for investing in that asset, and sticking by that investment case - while ensuring you review it from time to time to establish if that case still rings true. 

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