“Bitwise CIO: Beware of Overvalued Cryptos”

Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan warned investors to approach crypto projects with high valuations skeptically as the “wealth effect” is occurring in the crypto market. He indicated that traders are reallocating portions of their Bitcoin (BTC) into other crypto investments, causing price increases across the market.

In a recent series of posts on X, Hougan explained that Bitcoin’s recent price surge has led to investors spreading their profits across more questionable crypto tOKens, potentially giving them a false sense of legitimacy.

“Be careful out there. Lots of terrible projects get funded in exuberant bull markets and many are already trading at crazy valuations.”

On March 7, Cointelegraph reported that altcoins, led by memecoins and AI-themed cryptos, outperformed BTC over the last week.

Hougan reiterated this is because investors gain confidence after an increase in an investment, leading them to opt for riskier investments in hopes of higher rewards.

“Crypto natives make money in bitcoin, feel rich, and then look for more speculative assets to invest in,” he declared.

This comes amid Bitcoin hitting new all-time highs, reaching $70,184 on March 8.

Cointelegraph reported around the same time that Charles Edwards, founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, believes Bitcoin’s new all-time high is “fairly priced.”

Furthermore, Hougan challenged the widespread discussion of the surprise of the hype given that Bitcoin has only grown “a few hundred percent from the lows.”

He indicated that interest in the altcoin market is not driven by Bitcoin’s rate of return as a percentage, but more so the total trading volume.

“What catalyzes alt season is not the percentage return of bitcoin but the cumulative size of the wealth effect. And since the November 2022 lows, bitcoin’s market cap has grown by $1 trillion.”

Meanwhile, he explained that when Bitcoin’s price has spiked in previous times, the amount of wealth generated was comparatively lower, despite the percentage increase being higher.

“By comparison, in earlier cycles, the amount of wealth generated by bitcoin rallying was smaller on an absolute dollar scale at this stage in the cycle, even though it was larger on a percentage scale,” he explains.

Related: Bitcoin traders anticipate new highs, according to stablecoin flows to exchanges

Given the amount of scams in the crypto industry, there is a heightened sense of skepticism towards unknown crypto projects.

On December 28, blockchain security platform Immunefi reported that 2023 saw a total of $1.8 billion lost to Web3 hackers and scammers

With many investors looking to project founders and who is developing the project to make decisions on their investments, it is only going to become more difficult to decipher with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI).

Meanwhesse Leclere, a blockchain analyst from CertiK, warned Cointelegraph that scams are only becoming more advanced and users should remain hyper-vigilant for well-executed exploits.

Magazine: Is measuring blockchain transactions per second (TPS) stupid in 2024? Big Questions

此时快讯

【全国人大代表江帆建议：涉案虚拟货币处置制度亟待完善】金色财经报道，近日，全国人大代表，湖南人和人律师事务所董事局主席江帆在接受《法治日报》记者采访时表示，虚拟货币的处置已经成为司法实践中的重点和难点问题。建议修改《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法》的相关条款，进一步完善涉案虚拟货币处置制度。
江帆表示，近年来，由于受到诈骗、敲诈勒索、洗钱以及恐怖主义等犯罪活动的青睐，涉及虚拟货币的刑事案件呈现逐年增长的趋势，虚拟货币在刑事涉案财产中的比重不断增加。
江帆指出，由于虚拟货币与传统财产属性不同，现有的制度规定、侦查措施和财产处置方式无法应对涉案虚拟货币扣押、保管、变现等活动的现实需要。相关规范性文件对办案机关处置涉案虚拟货币的准则与程序等关键问题语焉不详，一些办案机关迫不得已，往往容易采取主观推定的方式推进涉案财物处置的工作进程，导致司法实践中，刑事涉案货币处置出现了法律适用缺失、强制措施不完善、变现程序存疑等现实难题。
江帆建议将《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法》第一百四十四条修改为：人民检察院、公安机关根据侦查犯罪的需要，可以依照规定查询、冻结犯罪嫌疑人的存款、汇款、债券、股票、基金份额、虚拟货币等财产。有关单位和个人应当配合。犯罪嫌疑人的存款、汇款、债券、股票、基金份额、虚拟货币等财产已被冻结的，不得重复冻结。