Who should you listen to about crypto in 2022?
By Robert Davis
18:04, 4 February 2022
Cryptocurrency trading gained in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic as investors across the world were forced to stay inside.
According to a survey from CNBC and Momentive, a quarter of the general public began investing in 2020 or later. Most said they took a long position in the digital assets because of their long-term growth potential.
The crypto information ecosystem grew more crowded over the same period. The survey found that new investors tend to be more optimistic about crypto than those who entered the market before 2019. This begs the question about the quality of information each group is receiving.
The following list contains individuals who have their fingers on the pulse of the crypto market. Their day-to-day and weekly analyses provide deeper insights than other outlets, and their voices ought to be considered before making a move in the market.
James Butterfill – CoinShares
Since cryptocurrencies are still relatively new when compared to other investment products, capturing investor sentiment is a useful measure for crypto traders to understand. Not only does it give traders a broad view of the market’s health, but it can be used to spot trends that develop in response to macroeconomic or geopolitical events.
James Butterfill and his research team at CoinShares have been tracking this data for a long time and regularly publish it in their weekly fund flow reports. These reports show which cryptocurrencies are seeing the most in-and-outflows during a given week and can help traders identify broad trends in the market.
For example, Butterfill’s research found that more than $131m (£97m) was taken out of bitcoin during January, a time that was particularly contentious in Eastern Europe. However, multi-asset investment products saw inflows of $20.7m over the same period. Litecoin, solana, cardano and ripple as saw net month-to-date inflows
Joo Kian and Genevieve Yeoh – Delphi Digital
Overall market sentiment is an important factor to understand. But more sophisticated traders often rely on technical indicators to make their decisions. That’s where analysts Ong Joo Kian and Genevieve Yeoh at Delphi Digital come in.
This dynamic duo publishes daily research that explicates how markets are moving across different sectors and blockchains. Their research is data-driven and covers every sector from alt-coins to game tokens and developer activity.
Their daily digest always has charted explanations of how the duo came to their conclusions as well.
Karan Sood – CBOE Vest
Making the decision to invest in cryptocurrencies is only half of the battle. In the other half, investors need to learn how to balance the inherent volatility of digital assets with their investment goals.
No one understands the volatility of the crypto markets quite like Karan Sood. As the chief executive of CBOE Vest, an investment management company, he is responsible for continuing to develop the firm’s targeted investment portfolios and actively managing existing products.
Sood also holds a patent for creating one of the world’s first targeted outcome investment products. He built the first buffer index and buffer mutual fund in 2016. Each of these products is designed to tamp down on pressures created by market and asset volatility, thereby clearing the way for investors to realise gains.
CBOE Vest provides one of the only mutual funds that provides access to bitcoin futures. This product doesn’t invest in bitcoin directly, giving investors access to the world’s most popular cryptocurrency without assuming all the risk from its volatility.
Ophelia Snyder – 21 Shares
The first three individuals mentioned can give traders an inside look at how the crypto markets are performing from a US perspective. However, crypto is a global phenomenon, meaning that US traders need to find a global voice that they can trust.
Ophelia Snyder, co-founder and president of Switzerland’s 21 Shares, is that voice.
As a former associate at the investment bank UBS and a tech advisory group called Evercore, Snyder has years of experience analysing macro trends that impact global capital markets. She has also helped launch an array of exchange-traded products and other investments that give traders access to the crypto markets without signing up to use an individual exchange.
Outside of investing, 21 Shares has its finger on the pulse of major geopolitical events like the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the ongoing energy crisis in Kazakhstan. The organisation’s frequent newsletters often dive deep into these issues and explain them in a way that is accessible for even the most novice crypto traders.
Yann Alleman and Jan Happel – Glassnode
Another pair of reliable voices that speak about the global impacts of cryptocurrencies are Yann Alleman and Jan Happel at Glassnode.
The Swiss duo runs a popular Twitter account where they share all their latest on-chain data with investors. Some metrics they track include whale purchases, seller activity and risk signals.
Glassnode also publishes a weekly newsletter that combines tokenomic data with traditional macroeconomic and technical indicators. Whether you trade in derivatives, options, or just want to better understand the markets, Glassnode publishes a little bit for everyone.
What separates Glassnode’s platform from other crypto data analytic firms is that it provides a comprehensive view of the market rather than explaining just on a handful of interesting data. Glassnode also publishes in multiple languages including Japanese and Chinese.
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