Author: Michelle Lazo

Bullish sentiment continues to decline among individual investors as inflation remains elevated. According to the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) Sentiment survey, optimism about the stock market’s short-term outlook decreased for the second consecutive week. Currently, 43.4% of respondents express optimism, compared to 47.3% and 50% in the previous two weeks. Conversely, bearish sentiment rose to 24% from last week’s 22.2%. Neutral sentiments also increased to 32.5% this week, up from 30.5% the previous week.

The recent consumer inflation report, which exceeded economists’ expectations by climbing 0.4% in March, dampened hopes for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts. Analyst James Kostohryz suggests that barring significant disruptions like a war or oil supply crisis, there’s little justification for rate cuts before October 2024. However, President Joe Biden maintains his prediction of Fed rate cuts by year-end.

Market futures for the Nasdaq, S&P, and Dow edged higher on Thursday despite recent declines. The S&P 500 (SP500) fell nearly 1% over the past week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) declined over 1%, and the NASDAQ Composite Index dropped 0.6%. The NASDAQ 100 Index saw a decline of 0.8%.

In the cryptocurrency and commodities markets, Bitcoin USD (BTC-USD) rose 4% since last Thursday, while Gold increased by nearly 3%. Gold futures achieved another record high settlement on Tuesday before experiencing a slight pullback on Wednesday.

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Zeta Markets, a decentralized derivatives protocol operating on Solana, has introduced its native governance token, Z, as part of a broader strategic initiative. The token launch coincides with plans to roll out Solana’s inaugural layer 2 scaling solution, according to a press release from Zeta Markets.

The Z token, with a total supply of 1 billion, aims to foster community engagement and participation within the Zeta ecosystem. As an integral part of the protocol, the token will enable users and community members to influence important decisions and receive additional rewards through staking.

Initially, 10% of the Z token supply will be distributed via an airdrop to active Zeta traders, stakers, and strategic Solana community participants. Active traders will receive 50% of the initial distribution based on their Z-score, while stakers will receive 40%. The remaining portion will be allocated to selected Solana community members.

Moreover, Zeta Markets plans to allocate 30% of the token supply to incentivize market makers, who play a crucial role in maintaining liquidity and optimal trading conditions on the platform.

Tristan Frizza, the Founder of Zeta Markets, expressed enthusiasm for the token launch, emphasizing the protocol’s commitment to democratizing decentralized finance (DeFi). Frizza highlighted Zeta’s track record of facilitating billions in trading volume and its aim to offer a transparent and user-centric DEX experience.

With over $21 million worth of cryptocurrencies locked in Zeta Markets, the platform ranks as the fifth-largest derivatives platform on Solana, according to DeFiLlama data.

The introduction of the Z token marks a significant step towards empowering the Zeta community and shaping the future trajectory of decentralized finance on Solana.

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