The latest frenzy gripping the crypto world revolves around the exchange of trading cards featuring prominent figures in the cryptocurrency space, courtesy of Fantasy.top.

Although the platform is currently on testnet, it is set to launch on the mainnet imminently. From Bitclout to FriendTech, it’s evident that Crypto Twitter thrives on speculating about each other.

The latest sensation takes the form of trading cards introduced by Fantasy.top, featuring nearly 250 crypto individuals available for trading on the platform. Users can collect these cards, assemble them into a team, and participate in competitions. The project’s X account reports that the latest competition attracted 23,800 participants.

Trading of these cards commenced on Fantasy.top in mid-February, gaining momentum recently following endorsements from influential crypto personalities such as crypto trader Ansem. Currently limited to testnet, users are not transacting with actual funds. However, the project is gearing up for its mainnet launch to gauge whether it can sustain the same level of interest.

Fantasy.top’s founder, known by the pseudonym Travis Bickle, noted that their growth has been explosive since the Ansem tweet. While they have observed Fantasy’s virality from the beginning, the current scale is unprecedented. Travis expressed anticipation for hitting full speed with the mainnet launch but is thrilled to witness such widespread interest already.

Although these figures reflect testnet activity, certain individuals have witnessed significant trading volumes for their cards. Ansem, for instance, recorded 439 testnet ether in trading volume, earning him rewards in testnet ether. FriendTech also experienced success by implementing a comparable model with high fees, incentivizing influencers to utilize and endorse the app.

Upon joining the platform, which currently operates on invite code-only access, users receive three testnet ether on the Blast Sepolia testnet, which they can utilize for purchasing cards. Additionally, new users are granted five starting cards, available in four categories: common, rare, epic, and legendary. To date, more than 1 million cards have been minted.

Fantasy.top provides social analytics data for individuals featured on each trading card, along with insights into their interactions on X. This feature aims to assist in valuing individuals based on their social media presence.

Built on Blast, a Layer 2 network on Ethereum launched on mainnet in February, Fantasy.top aims to offer a native-yield model for ether and stablecoins, providing 4% interest for the former and 5% for the latter. Blast was developed by Tieshun Roquerre, the founder of NFT marketplace Blur.

Building on Previous Social Finance Platforms

BitClout was among the pioneers in this domain, offering a similar experience to X, allowing users to speculate on the value of profiles. However, its launch was marred by controversy and missing features. BitClout seems to have been replaced or rebranded as Diamond.

FriendTech followed suit, allowing users to bet on individuals’ profiles, with the added feature of purchasing someone’s “key” for access to their private group chat. Despite a decline in activity, the project hints at a forthcoming next phase.

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Coinbase and MicroStrategy have seen significant gains of 8% and 12%, respectively, in early-day trading.

The surge in stock prices coincides with Bitcoin’s climb above the $72,000 mark.

Crypto-related companies started the week on a positive note as Bitcoin reached above $72,000 for the first time since mid-March.

Shares of Nasdaq-listed Coinbase and MicroStrategy rose by 8% and 12%, respectively, during early morning trading in New York. Coinbase shares surpassed $260, while MicroStrategy’s stock surged beyond the $1,600 mark within the past 24 hours, as per TradingView data at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Coinbase Price Target Raised

Oppenheimer, a New York-based financial firm, recently raised Coinbase’s share price target to $276 from a previous target of $200 while maintaining its buy rating. This increased target represents a roughly 6% rise from Monday’s opening share price for Coinbase.

Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau stated that they estimate Coinbase’s trading volume for the first quarter of 2024 to increase by 95% compared to the previous quarter and by 107% compared to the same period last year, reaching $300 billion.

Bullish Outlook for MicroStrategy

According to a report on MarketWatch, Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer increased his price target for MicroStrategy stock to $1,875 from $990, reiterating his buy rating in an investor note on Monday. This new target implies approximately a 17% upside from the current opening price.

As per The Block’s Data Dashboard, MicroStrategy’s bitcoin holdings now stand at 214,250 as of the company’s March filing. In March, MicroStrategy acquired an additional 9,245 bitcoins for $623 million in cash, bringing its total holdings to over 1% of the total bitcoin supply.

Decrease in Bitcoin Long-Term Holder Supply

However, according to this week’s Bitfinex Alpha report, bitcoin sell pressure could arise due to a reduction in the digital asset’s supply held by long-term holders.

Bitfinex analysts noted that since reaching its peak of 14.91 million Bitcoins held by long-term holders in December 2023, the supply within this cohort has decreased by approximately 900,000 Bitcoins. It’s noteworthy that around one-third of this reduction, totaling about 286,000 Bitcoins can be attributed to outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC).

The report also noted an increase in the supply held by short-term holders, totaling 1.121 million Bitcoins. The analysts added that this increase not only counteracts the distribution pressure from long-term holders but also suggests an additional acquisition of approximately 121,000 bitcoins from the secondary market, including exchanges.

Since spot bitcoin ETFs started trading on January 11, the quantity of bitcoin held by these ETFs has risen from 621,390 to 836,120, as reported on The Block’s data page.

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Global crypto investment products have witnessed an unprecedented surge in annual inflows, reaching $13.8 billion year-to-date, with an additional $646 million added last week. However, there are indications that the hype surrounding exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is beginning to moderate, according to James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares.

Leading asset managers such as BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares, and 21Shares collectively attracted $646 million in inflows globally last week, as reported by CoinShares. This follows the previous week’s net inflows of $862 million, pushing the year-to-date inflows to a historic high of $13.8 billion, surpassing the prior annual record of $10.6 billion set in 2021, within just a few months into 2024.

This surge indicates a sustained recovery for global crypto funds, following nearly $1 billion worth of outflows observed for the week ending March 22. However, Butterfill noted a moderation in appetite from ETF investors, with weekly flow levels not reaching the heights seen in early March. Additionally, trading volumes declined to $17.4 billion last week compared to $43 billion in the first week of March.

Bitcoin Continues to Dominate

Bitcoin remains the primary focus for global crypto investment products, with a net addition of $663 million last week. Conversely, short-bitcoin funds experienced their third consecutive week of outflows, totaling $9.5 million, indicating minor capitulation among bearish investors.

ETFs remain dominant, accounting for $484.5 million of last week’s net inflows.

Bitcoin is currently trading up 4% over the past week at $72,129, while the GMCI 30 index, representing the top 30 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, has seen an 8% increase during the same period, reaching 154.27.

Inflows into Other Cryptocurrencies

Investment products tied to Litecoin, Solana, and Filecoin also attracted inflows of $4.4 million, $4 million, and $1.4 million, respectively, last week. However, funds based on Ether experienced outflows for the fourth consecutive week, losing $22.5 million.

Regional Sentiment

Regionally, sentiment remains polarized, with U.S.-based funds adding $648 million last week, alongside inflows for products in Brazil, Hong Kong, and Germany. However, Switzerland and Canada recorded outflows of $27 million and $7.3 million, respectively.

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Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, has made a bold prediction regarding the cryptocurrency market, anticipating its total value to double within the current year. He attributes this forecast to significant developments, including the launch of the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the forthcoming bitcoin “halving.”

Garlinghouse expressed his optimism during an interview with CNBC, stating, “The overall market cap of the crypto industry … is easily predicted to double by the end of this year … [as it’s] impacted by all of these macro factors.” He emphasized the potential positive regulatory momentum in the United States as another factor propelling the market to new heights.

The Ripple CEO’s outlook aligns with expectations of the combined market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market surpassing $5 trillion in the current year. He attributes this projected growth to macro factors such as the debut of the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETF and the upcoming bitcoin halving.

The approval of the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 10 represents a significant milestone. These ETFs enable institutions and retail investors to access bitcoin exposure through trading on U.S. stock exchanges without directly owning the underlying asset.

The bitcoin halving, occurring approximately every four years, halves the total mining reward to bitcoin miners. This event, scheduled for later this month, is anticipated to further influence market dynamics.

Garlinghouse highlighted the contraction of supply and expansion of demand as fundamental drivers of market growth. He remarked, “That doesn’t take an economics major to tell you what happens when supply contracts and demand expands.”

As of April 4, the total crypto market capitalization stood at approximately $2.6 trillion. A projected doubling of this figure would imply a new total market cap exceeding $5.2 trillion.

Bitcoin, the leading digital currency, has experienced significant growth, appreciating over 140% in the past year. Despite reaching a record high above $73,000 on March 13, its value has since retraced below the $70,000 level.

Garlinghouse also highlighted the potential for positive regulatory developments in the United States, suggesting a shift towards greater clarity and accommodation for the crypto industry. He acknowledged the SEC’s recent enforcement actions, including the lawsuit against Ripple alleging illegal XRP sales, but expressed optimism for regulatory clarity moving forward.

Garlinghouse’s bullish outlook is shared by others in the crypto space, including Marshall Beard, COO of U.S. crypto exchange Gemini, who anticipates bitcoin’s price reaching $150,000 later this year. Despite anticipated volatility, driven by factors such as new regulations and supply dynamics, the overall momentum suggests continued growth for the crypto market.

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Uniswap, the premier decentralized exchange (DEX), has achieved a remarkable milestone by reaching $2 trillion in total trading volume as of 11:55 a.m. UTC on April 5, according to insights from a Dune Analytics dashboard maintained by Zach Wong, the strategy and operations lead at Uniswap. This significant volume includes transactions conducted on several blockchains that support Uniswap, such as Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Celo, BNB Chain, Base, Blast, and the Avalanche Network.

Uniswap’s Rapid Growth: Achieving the Second Trillion in Record Time

Since its inception in November 2018, Uniswap initially required 42 months to hit the $1 trillion trading volume mark by May 2022. Impressively, the platform managed to secure its second trillion in trading volume in under 24 months thereafter, demonstrating robust growth despite increasing competition within the decentralized exchange landscape.

In the past week alone, Uniswap has reported a staggering $21.6 billion in trading volume, as per a Dune Analytics dashboard by Fredrik Haga, a co-founder of the platform. This places Uniswap at the forefront of the DEX market, far ahead of its closest competitor, PancakeSwap, which recorded $9.6 billion in trading volume. Other DEXs such as Curve, Balancer, and Trader Joe also feature prominently, with trading volumes ranging between $800 million to $1.8 billion.

Challenging Centralized Exchanges

Uniswap’s record-breaking transaction volume positions it as a formidable competitor to centralized exchange giants like Binance and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). Data from The Block illustrates that while Binance continues to experience higher trading volume peaks, Uniswap has showcased consistent growth and an increasing trust among traders in decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions.

Notably, in early 2024, Uniswap’s trading volume witnessed a significant increase, narrowing the gap with Coinbase’s volume and occasionally surpassing it. This trend underscores a broader shift among investors towards platforms that facilitate direct, wallet-to-wallet trades and offer enhanced control over personal assets.

The peak in Uniswap’s trading volume, especially around March 2024, indicates that during periods of heightened market activity, traders are progressively opting for DEXs over their centralized counterparts as reliable trading venues.

A research study conducted last year further highlighted Uniswap’s competitive edge, revealing that it possesses deeper liquidity for several key cryptocurrency trading pairs than even the largest centralized exchanges, including Binance and Coinbase. On the popular trading pair of Ethereum against US dollars (USD), Uniswap was found to have twice the liquidity of both Binance and Coinbase. Moreover, for the Ethereum against Bitcoin trading pair, Uniswap’s liquidity was three times that of Binance and an impressive 4.5 times that of Coinbase, showcasing its substantial market presence and trader preference.

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