The crypto market trades in a tight range as regulatory framework gains momentum

Hey folks!

Hello, and welcome to your weekly update on crypto markets and investments. Today, we will learn something interesting about the ELSS mutual fund investment, discuss how we can create wealth over time, know what is happening in the crypto market and get an update on the tokens that have been making and breaking the market, learn about an interesting finance book that talks about the financial mistakes that one should avoid and finish of this weeks read with a brain-teasing crossword.

But, the first order of business is a quick browse through the recently released ‘The Crypto Wealth Report’ by Henley and Partners. It gives some exciting insights into the crypto-verse, discussing crypto user volumes, the total value of all the cryptos, and the number of crypto millionaires, centi-millionaires, and billionaires worldwide. For instance, there are a total of 88,200 crypto millionaires worldwide, of which 40,500 are Bitcoin millionaires. Also, of the 22 crypto billionaires worldwide, 6 are Bitcoin billionaires. These are some astounding facts and figures in the report. Read the report linked above to learn more interesting facts and figures from the crypto-verse.

We continue our wealth creation journey with a video on ELSS investments and how they can help you save taxes!

Are you ready to save taxes while you invest? If yes, ELSS (Equity-linked savings scheme) might interest you. The video will simplify your ELSS investment process and help you decide on the ELSS fund that aligns with your financial goal and risk persona. Watch the video to learn more.

Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world!

The above statement may sound like an anomaly because movies, glorified stories, and, most recently, finfluencers (financial influencers) on social media have made us believe that wealth creation is an almost overnight process.

But, if investment experts and numbers are to be believed, wealth creation is a race in which the slow and steady tortoise always wins because we underestimate the power of compounding.

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” - Albert Einstein.

A bold statement by one of the greatest minds our civilization has ever seen makes compound interest worth understanding and thus worthy of discussion.

Let's put the wonder of compound interest to the test. What would you prefer, Rs 10 lakh today or a magic paisa that doubles daily for 30 days?

Now, if you are like most people, you find the upfront Rs. 10 lakh lucrative and thus choose it over the magic paisa, but you might change your mind if we jump into the compounding calculations.

The magic paisa that doubles daily for 30 days would be worth Rs. 53,68,709 at the end of 30 days, over 5X the Rs 10 lakh upfront offer. The number does justice to Enstine’s statement of compounding being the 8th wonder of the world.

Watch this section in the following newsletters to learn more about compounding and how you can benefit from it.

It has been a quiet week for the crypto market as it traded sideways in a tight range, even as significant regulatory groundwork gained momentum. The total crypto market cap is almost back to $1.1 trillion, as BTC and ETH prices remain practically flat over the week, trading above their anchor levels of $26k and $1.6k, respectively.

For both the significant crypto assets, the near-term price trigger is the Spot ETF approvals in the US, with Cathie Wood's ARK also filing for an ETH spot ETF last week. For the broader markets, it is worth highlighting that trading volume for August was at a 4.5-year low as investors with "risk capital" wait on the sidelines to make a return to the markets.

Amidst the low volumes, a significant threat for the coming week is a court order regarding liquidations of FTX holdings, with sizeable positions in SOL, ETH, and BTC, that could result in sell-side downward pressure on prices this week.

On a positive note, the US accounting body FASB recommended marking crypto assets at market value on balance sheets, paving the way for more corporate treasuries to explore this asset class. Then, the much-awaited IMF/FSB synthesis paper was prepared after G20 deliberations, suggesting that any blanket ban would be ineffective on this globally distributed asset.

Real World Asset tokenization continues to gain steam, as an advocacy group of major players in the field was set up last week.

Even though the broader crypto markets traded relatively flat, there was a lot of token-specific action!
Solana's SOL had a volatile week with the big announcement from their Visa partnership bumping prices, only to retrace over the next two days with the overhang of FTX liquidations.

Stellar's XLM surged last week after it dropped a teaser post on X regarding an upcoming feature launching next week.

• BTC $25,703 ⏬0.74%

• ETH $1,589 ⏬2.75%

• SOL $$17.69 ⏬ 10.44%

• XLM $0.1265  ⏫ 1.82%

(All data here is as of 4.30 pm, 11 September 2023.)

As a crypto enthusiast, you should understand what’s causing all the price action. So here’s some news to help you digest the market’s ups and downs.

• JPMorgan Chase is exploring a blockchain-based payment and settlement system. The biggest US bank has developed most of the initial infrastructure needed to run the new form of payment as it awaits regulatory approval. Read more here.

• Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked and used to steal $700,000 in crypto and NFTs, according to estimates from crypto sleuth ZachXBT and on-chain data. Read more here.

Learning to invest by watching videos and talking to friends is all good, but occasionally, a good book enlightens us on our personal finance journey.

We have the perfect book for you if you want to start your financial literacy journey via reading.

Foops!
By: Manoj Arora

This book discusses the 30 common financial mistakes we make in our quest to create wealth. Once you read this book, you will understand the impact of seemingly small myths like understanding the science of numbers, while that may not be the case. Foops will help you recognize your mistakes and help you limit the impact of your errors on your portfolio.
Written by an Indian author, this book is about concepts relevant to the Indian style of expenditure, savings, and investment making Foops! an excellent read.

Invest your time and money in this gem of a book.

Before you get on with your day, don’t forget to flex those brain muscles with our weekly crypto crossword

That’s it for now. Thanks for sticking around.

See you later, folks! 👋

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