FTX REVENUE GREW BY 1000% (?!)
September is worth to wait. Although, Bitcoin shows bearish moves. NFTs bubble popped - it’s over.
Coo! Another week, another Monday, but crypto news is always a fresh gust of air into your brain. And I, the Crypto Owl, am here to tell it all. So, let’s get started!
And, don’t forget to tell your friends about this Crypto Owl Newsletter! 🦉💜
On Today’s Menu:
🌯MEDIUM SPICY BURRRRITOS: FTX Revenue’s Up 1000%. How?
🌮TACOS: September Is Going To Be Eventful. What Should We Look Out For?
🍟FRENCH FRIES WITH A LIL’ BIT OF SALT: Bearish Market … Again?
🥤ORANGE LEMONADE: More Crypto News Around The Web
🍦GELATO: Are NFTs Over?! Watch this to find out.
FTX MANAGED TO GROW ITS REVENUE BY 1000%. HOW?
It is majestic - to grow a company’s earnings by 10x in one year.
Some leaked financial documents showed that this is precisely what happened to FTX - one of the biggest, yet relatively young private crypto exchange platform.
FTX was founded in 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried, now a 30-year-old billionaire, and ex-Wall Street trader; if you’re not so new in crypto, you may know this name. Bankman-Fried is a bright personality in the digital currency world, often appearing in headlines. While some believe that Sam is a hero who rescues dying companies, others think that FTX founder has darker intentions (for example, some facts report that Sam’s company is responsible for taking down Celsius, and I wrote about that, so you can read the whole story here.)
Either love him or hate him, but Sam did something right if he managed to grow his company’s income so damn fast and tremendously.
So, let’s take a closer look at the numbers of the explosive growth that reportedly happened last year (2021):
Crypto, in general, was booming during 2020-2021, so it was one of the reasons for FTX revenue spike;
In 2020, FTX’s net income was $17 million, and in 2021 it reached $388 million, which is ~2182% increase;
Operating income in 2020 was $14 million, and in 2021 it bounced up to $272 million, so it grew almost 1843%;
And, FTX faced a 1000% increase in revenue: from $89 million in 2020 to $1.02 billion (!!!) in 2021. Daaamn.
Naturally, the question “HOW?” raises.
Well, Sam worked quietly yet very efficiently. He has invested in various companies, massive onboard numbers of customers, and made partnerships and sponsorships; during this Crypto Winter, as crypto exchanges started to face substantial liquidity problems, FTX was a number one company that offered help by lending hundreds of millions of dollars, or even purchasing nearly dead exchanges (e.g., BlockFi, Bithumb, Voyager, although he ended up not buying it);
He recently bought Switzerland-based company Digital Assets DA AG, and Australia-based IFS GROUP which comes with 15 smaller companies from all over the globe. That definitely raised FTX stakes.
FTX also broadened its horizons into stock trading; rumors spread that Bankman-Fried is planning on buying Robinhood - a popular trading app. But both Sam and Robinhood deny it. We’ll see.
Now, if we would look at this year’s numbers, they also show pretty great results:
In the first quarter of 2022, FTX’s income reached $270 million (the aim is to do around $1.1 billion in revenue in 2022);
However, it is not clear how the company’s doing in the second quarter during this complicated bearish period that affected the whole crypto market negatively;
So, it seems like FTX is holding up pretty well, but it is definitely intriguing what second quarter data may show to us. Will FTX become another Coinbase or Binance? I’ll be there to gladly inform you.
SUMMER ENDS SOON, BUT SEPTEMBER IS WORTH TO WAIT
There you go - 9 days, and that’s it. End of summer. But there is nothing to be sad about, because September is going to be a great month, full of colorful leafs and special events, too.
This year, Autumn Equinox is going to happen on 23rd of September. If you now think what this has to do with crypto - a lot, my friend.
It is known, that in the financial world, various events happen around this time of the year.
Open your calendar and mark those dates:
12th September: CME group is going to launch ETH Futures
CME Group is the biggest and world’s leading derivative marketplace; Ether Futures is a legal agreement (or basically a contract) to buy or to sell Ether in the future at a particulate date.
CME Group is already providing micro-sized (1/10 of 1ETH) Ether futures as well as micro-sized Bitcoin futures (1/10 of 1BTC) which are constantly growing and adding value by providing liquidity and other bonuses for the clients. But these new ETH futures will be bigger - their size will reach 50 Ether per contract.
CME Group Global Head of Equity and FX Products said,"The launch of these new options contracts builds on the significant growth and deep liquidity we have seen in our existing Ether futures, which have traded more than 1.8 million contracts to date”. He added, “Our new Ether options will offer a wide array of clients greater flexibility and added precision to manage their ether exposure ahead of market moving events."
15-16th September: ETH Merge
Ooooh, I feel like so much talking about this particular event that I have nothing more to add here. It is just… probably be one of the most important and remarkable events in the crypto history. People are waiting. And hoping the best outcome. Ethereum will finally fully move on to the Proof-of-Stake consensus. Gee, I’m so excited. ARE YOU?
20th - 21st September: FOMC meeting
Well, this one is going to be nerve-racking. Every FOMC meeting brings that vibe into the community.
This time it is believed, that a 50bps hike is very possible. Inflation seems to be tamed at least a little bit, oil prices slightly fell down, and stocks moved up, so people hope for the best.
It’s not that far away, so, let’s stay positive.
ARE WE BACK TO THE BEARISH MARKET?
In the past week or two we saw some green light in Bitcoin prices. And it was so joyful.
However, sometimes good things don’t last long, and currently we are back to the red color. Yesterday Bitcoin ended and closed the week under 200-MA (200 weeks moving average), which is nothing but a bearish market sign. And nobody likes that. Unless, the ones who aim to buy Bitcoin cheaper.
Bitcoin, at the time of the writing is at $21199.00, while four days ago (17th August) it was more than $24k.
The question is - will Bitcoin remain and continue to be red in September? We have one week to go, but hopefully, summer will end with the green.
Otherwise, it’s predicted that Bitcoin could drop as low as $12 - $14k:
With such predictions we all might greet the actual winter with crypto winter. And too much of winter isn’t good. At all.
ORANGE LEMONADE: MORE CRYPTO NEWS AROUND THE WEB
Correlation growing between crypto and equity markets in Asia, says IMF
Stablecoin issuers hold more US debt than Berkshire Hathaway: Report
Crypto tax can wait, free coins can’t: S. Korea mulls ‘gift tax’ for airdrops
Leading anti-aging event set to feature blockchain as part of core programming
GELATO
Something is going on with NFTs. Were we living in a bubble which suddenly popped, and ended this NFTs fairy tale?
💜 HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS NEWSLETTER? 💜
Disclaimer: This newsletter is strictly educational. None of this information is intended to be financial advice. Always do your research and act responsibly with your profits.