OpenSea softens crypto winter.

Devin Finzer, 32, CEO of OpenSea, said that the crypto industry had seen «some setbacks», referencing the fall of FTX. This cryptocurrency exchange collapsed into bankruptcy in November, helping to trigger a fall in the value of digital assets. Conversely, OpenSea soared in value as NFTs, which can be online collectables and digital art built on the same blockchain technology as cryptos, became a hype-fuelled market over the past two years. But the head of the New York-based company insisted that NFTs have a bright future, and consumers will continue to spend to acquire digital images. «It is not necessarily the case that NFTs will always be bought and sold denominated in cryptocurrency, as they are today,» he said.

«There are a variety of reasons why that makes sense in the current ecosystem, but, as we get broader and more accessible, there is no reason that NFTs could not at least be denominated in US dollars». OpenSea has seen monthly trading volumes in crypto ether fall 95 per cent from a $4.9bn peak in January last year to $253mn in November, according to data from a user on Dune Analytics, information that OpenSea directed the FT towards as the private company does not disclose its figures. The daily number of NFTs sold in the ether on the platform has dropped 68 per cent from a peak of 2.3mn in January to 740,000 last month. The company cut 20 per cent of staff in July, with Finzer anticipating a «prolonged downturn» and leaving OpenSea with about 300 employees.

Finzer maintains the company has a «healthy runway», having raised $423mn over several funding rounds since 2021, which saw investments from venture capitalists Coatue and Andreessen Horowitz. NFTs use blockchain technology to certify ownership of a digital asset, which is recorded on an immutable ledger of transactions.

www.sba.tax

Comments

Cloud Bookkeeping

US FED rate rise.

The US Federal Reserve officials have indicated that they plan to resume increasing interest rates to control inflation in the world's biggest economy. During the June meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee reached a consensus to keep interest rates stable for the time being to evaluate whether further tightening of policy would be necessary. However, the majority of the committee anticipates that additional rate increases will be required in the future. The minutes of the meeting have recently been made public. According to the minutes, most participants believed maintaining the federal funds rate at 5 to 5.25 per cent was appropriate or acceptable, despite some individuals wanting to raise the acceleration due to slow progress in cooling inflation. Although Fed forecasts predicted a mild recession starting later in the year, policymakers faced challenges in interpreting data that showed a tight job market and only slight improvements in inflation. Additionally, officials gr...

India- UK trade deal.

According to India's top trade official, talks with the UK regarding a trade agreement are progressing well, despite obstacles related to temporary work visas and the opening up industries like automotive and spirits. The Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, explained that India is seeking transition periods or greater market access in specific sectors due to its economy, which is slightly larger than the UK's and expected to outgrow it in the coming decades. If a trade deal is reached, it would be one of the most significant agreements for Britain since leaving the EU, and it would also be necessary for India, which surpassed the UK as the fifth-largest economy last year. Goyal stated that India aims to increase its economy from $3.5tn to $35tn by 2047, the country's centenary of independence. According to officials and diplomats in India, talks about a proposed trade deal may be finished by early September, just in time for the G20 summit in New Delhi. Nigel Hu...

EU business slide.

S&P Global’s flash eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index, a key gauge of business conditions for the manufacturing and services sector, fell 1 point to 47.1, figures showed yesterday. That is its lowest level since November 2020 and the fourth consecutive month below the crucial 50 mark separating growth from contraction. One of the few bright spots in the survey was that companies in all sectors reported a slight easing of cost pressures, price growth and supply chain constraints. However, prices charged for goods and services still rose at the sixth fastest rate since such data started in 2002. Jobs growth increased marginally from October but remained low compared with the past 18 months. Following a few months of falling price pressure in manufacturing and services, the October print shows an overall stabilisation said Jens Eisenschmidt, chief European economist at Morgan Stanley. However, German businesses, at the hub of Europe’s energy crisis, reported that manu...

Search This Blog