Missile Attack on Israel Shakes Markets Bitcoin Drops 4.5%

The Breakdown First Five - Wednesday, September 2, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Voters Demand Clarity

A new Harris poll has demonstrated that voters of all stripes want to see clear crypto policy from the Harris campaign. So far, the tactic seems to be saying little for fear of turning off voters with negative views of crypto. The poll commissioned by Consensys found that 49% of voters believed that pro-crypto policies are at least somewhat important. The polling also showed that the crypto vote is still up for grabs, with 74% willing to vote outside of their party. 

4. Binance Available In Argentina

Binance is now fully available in Argentina after completing the local registration process. This is Binance's 20th global license as they push to come up to code. Binance said the Argentine market is important, with local crypto owners “showing they are thirsty for tools that allow them to use crypto in their daily lives.” The registration also demonstrates a commitment from President Milei to make regulated crypto platforms easily accessible in Argentina. 

3. UK Sandbox Open

UK regulators in collaboration with the Bank of England have opened signups for their digital securities sandbox. The basic premise is to create a safe harbor to experiment with tokenization and digital ledger technology at low volumes without all the red tape. Tradfi firms and crypto startups can experiment with new infrastructure while regulators observe and consider how the rules should work. The goals are aligned, to make finance quicker and cheaper.

2. VC Hangover

Venture investors who binged in 2021 are still holding heavy bags according to Multicoin’s Tushar Jain. He’s seen very few down rounds and “a lot of people don't want to take their medicine yet.” VC pumped $33B into crypto startups in 2021 and while that class has a few bright sparks, there’s also a ton of SEC enforcements and bankrupt companies. Around 80% of companies funded in that era are still building and stretching their runway. 

1.  Iran Rocks Markets

A missile attack on Israel has sent markets reeling. Both major stock indicies took a major drawdown in anticipation, but Bitcoin was one of the few markets open as the missile started flying. After a 4.5% plunge Bitcoin traded heavy overnight, struggling to maintain the $61,000 level. Analysts are debating whether they should sell into fear of a major war kicking off or fade more tit-for-tat retaliation in the middle east.