Which Exchange is the NEXT FTX?!

Hope for the best, expect the worst. If you don’t have a personal crypto mantra that you recite under your breath every morning, then allow me to commend those seven words to you. 

The traumatic events of last year may be entering an endgame of sorts, as SBF and others stare down the barrel of some serious jail time, but we have to expect that another crisis is never far away. We cannot allow ourselves to blithely imagine that all exchanges are now safe and that an FTX-style meltdown won’t happen again.

In the post-FTX landscape, exchanges are realising the importance of transparency and taking steps to reassure users that their funds are indeed safe. So, in today’s video, we take a look at four of the biggest exchanges and analyse just how safe they are and what steps they’re taking to prove it. 

That said, you should always heed the advice of the great Ben Cowen, who puts it better than I could ever hope to. “Treat an exchange like a public toilet: go in, do your business and get the hell out.” In other words, if you practise self custody, then even if the s**t does hit the fan, you should be well out of the way.

You can watch that video here.
 

📈 Crypto Market Forecast 📈

A whole bunch of macro and crypto factors are once again threatening to make this coming week a potentially spicy one. What makes this week different from the others is that not all of these factors are knowable. On the macro front, the big worry is the war in Israel, which may have escalated by the time you see this. 

This macro factor is arguably more significant than any of the others at the moment (interest rates, GDP, etc). That’s because this new war could have a profound impact on just about everything. At a truly macro level, an escalation could disrupt oil and gas supply chains. This could cause inflation to rise. Israel has already shut off a Mediterranean gas field and this could affect the EU. 

When it comes to the crypto factor in this conflict, there have already been plenty of hit pieces coming from the mainstream media about how crypto was used to fund Hamas. If we see an escalation and other militant groups getting involved, then it would not be surprising to see similar hit pieces saying how crypto funded those groups too. At that point we could start to see sanctions against larger crypto entities. 

It doesn’t necessarily need to involve sanctions either. Some of you might recall that Pakistan and Kuwait recently banned crypto at the request of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Other countries in the Middle East could be forced into a similar position given the recent revelations. Consider that the UAE is already on a shaky footing with the FATF - it was greylisted early last year. 

This could have the ultimate effect of reversing the pro-crypto trend we’ve seen in the Middle East. As most of you will know, many Gulf countries have been vying to become crypto hubs, with even Saudi Arabia exploring crypto regulations. Abandoning these aspirations could do serious damage to the crypto industry. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. 

Meanwhile, when it comes to crypto itself, the big story has been SBF’s trial, which I’ll remind you all is expected to last for another 5 weeks at least. As I predicted, the topics discussed during the trial have started to shift from FTX and Alameda Research and onto the broader crypto industry. It appears that this has been influencing crypto prices the most over the last week. 

Take Solana, for example. It reportedly dipped after being mentioned repeatedly during the trial. Chances are we’re going to see the same happen to any other altcoins that become a point of discussion. Crypto companies like Tether and Binance are also starting to be mentioned, with SBF believing that Binance leaked Alameda’s balance sheet to CoinDesk. 

Unsurprisingly, SBF’s trial has also overshadowed the other ongoing crypto cases that could have an equally profound impact on the market. The one that we’ve been watching closely is the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance. Circle recently filed to support Binance by arguing that stablecoins are not securities. The judge has accepted this filing, so that’s some good news.

Of course, the good news that everyone is waiting for is the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. Some of you might recall that the SEC delayed its decision about all six spot Bitcoin ETF applications in late August. Well, it’s decision time again. In the coming days (Monday and Tuesday) the SEC will decide to either approve, delay, or reject all applications again. 

Everyone is expecting another delay, which makes sense given the circumstances. But, there’s always a chance that the SEC could approve a spot Bitcoin ETF out of the blue. If the listing of Ethereum futures ETFs are anything to go by though, this doesn’t necessarily guarantee that BTC will moon. All it would do is set the stage for the next lunar mission. 

Some would say that it’s about time that mission got underway.

💯 Deal This Week 💯

This year has been a pretty rough one for most crypto users. It seems that the only people who have made money in the past couple of months are the traders. 

That’s because traders are able to take advantage of the short-term volatility in the market to turn a profit.

And, just as important as entering the right positions, traders need to be using the best exchanges with the most competitive fees. 

One of the best known of these exchanges is Bybit. And, if you consider yourself one of those competitive traders, then the offer we have for you today is right down your alley! 

Team Coin Bureau has managed to secure you guys an exclusive trading competition. This competition has a prize pool of up to $30,000 and is for Coin Bureau users ONLY!

The most profitable trader can walk away with a prize of up to $15,000!

IMPORTANT: Most trading competitions are structured so that only whale traders have any chance of winning. However, we’ve been able to negotiate a deal where rankings for this competition are based purely on the participant’s profit percentage.

How to compete in our exclusive trading competition? 

⏰ When? 10 AM (UTC) October 15 > 10 AM (UTC) November 14

To join you will need to:

1️⃣ Create a Bybit account through Coin Bureau’s link

2️⃣ Login to your Bybit account and deposit $500+

3️⃣ Head over to our exclusive promotions page & click “join”

4️⃣ Do $50k trade volume in the promotion period and your P/L ranking will display on the leaderboard!

5️⃣ Maintain a balance of $500+ on Bybit to remain eligible for the promotion

Want to showcase your skills and be crowned the Coin Bureau Trading Champion? 👑

👉 Sign up to Bybit and get that exclusive trading competition up to $30,000, $40,000 in bonuses and 0% maker fees for 30 days!
 

🇭🇰  GambleFi Defies 🇭🇰
 

The gambling industry is one of the largest and most profitable sectors in the world. There’s also evidence to suggest it’s as old as the concept of money itself, if not older. However, due to gambling’s status as a ‘vice’, which harms society when indulged in too enthusiastically, the industry around it is also one of the most tightly regulated markets out there.

Therefore, it should perhaps come as no surprise that crypto and gambling have a bit of previous. After all, cryptocurrency originated as a movement that sought to wrest back financial control from nation states.

In fact, online gambling platforms have been using cryptocurrencies as a common wagering instrument since the early 2010s. Due to their ability to allow users to make fast, secure and discreet transactions online, the number of crypto casinos has been increasing exponentially every year.

Some even estimate that crypto payments constitute over 25% of all bets made on online gambling platforms. As such, we believe the latest emergence of ‘GambleFi’ will only supercharge this trend.

If this is your first time hearing of GambleFi, it refers to the sector of crypto casinos that are driving engagement on their platforms through the use of DeFi elements. While still fairly new, this sector has been gaining significant traction since early 2023. Specifically, crypto casinos have been launching their own digital utility tokens and NFTs to offer holders perks, such as increased rakebacks, reduced withdrawal fees and a lower house edge.

Currently, the total market cap of GambleFi tokens is just shy of $600 million, with a significant portion ($416M) of this market cap coming from a single token called Rollbit Coin ($RLB). Rollbit is the segment’s top-performing platform with a self-reported average daily revenue of $1 million over the past 30 days.

For perspective, the global online gambling market size was valued at $75.41 billion in 2021. With that projected valuation standing at $95b this year, this places Rollbit’s projected yearly revenue ($400M) at just 0.5% of the global market.

This suggests that the GambleFi sector may be undervalued. This finding seems to hold true when you consider that, at an assumed annualised revenue of $400M and assumed future FDV of $327M, the p/e ratio for Rollbit is 0.8. For context, the average p/e ratio for online gambling businesses is 20. 

Admittedly, crypto tokens such as $RLB and stocks of a company are two very different asset classes. (Gary Gensler, take note.) However, our reason for using the p/e ratio is due to the effective FDV being directly correlated to the price and supply of $RLB. Since Rollbit’s token burn program uses a significant portion of revenue to burn $RLB, we believe the p/e ratio might actually be a good indicator.

Additionally, a recent Statista report estimates the revenue of the global online gambling industry will grow by 8.54% over the next five years. The largest market for gambling is currently North America, followed by Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Notably, the online gambling industry in the Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to see a higher compound annual growth rate (CAGR) than anywhere else, due to the region's rising smartphone and internet penetration across various developing nations.

Coincidentally, many crypto companies are also moving to crypto-friendly countries in Asia-Pacific, due to the ongoing crypto crackdown in the West, specifically the US. These synergies only add to the bull case for GambleFi.

However, there are also a number of factors that threaten the growth of this sector. For instance, many countries have strict regulations on platforms offering gambling services to their citizens. This means that centralised entities such as CEXs are often hesitant (and rightfully so) to list tokens associated with GambleFi.

This concern is only compounded when you consider that offshore gambling platforms are notorious for their often lax attitude when it comes to following these regulations. In the past, platforms like Roobet have been accused of using deceptive preventive controls to serve customers from prohibited jurisdictions like the US. In fact, even Rollbit recently discontinued support for two of its products due to “regulatory hurdles.”

While these concerns are certainly factors to consider, and while many find gambling in all its forms distasteful - for religious, moral or ethical reasons - the GambleFi sector is nevertheless one to watch carefully.

📊 Guy’s Personal Portfolio 📊

BTC 37.69% | ETH 28.82% | USDC 18.91% | USDT 7.56% | USD 3.82% | ATOM 2.23% | DOT 0.97%

🔮 Video Pipeline 🔮

• Bitfinex Report: What you need to know!
• Congressional Insider Trading: Huge scandal!
• The Ultimate Altcoin Entry Strategy!
• Safely Store Your Crypto: Best Wallets Out There 
• Mike McGlone Interview: Bloomberg Macro Strategist Insights
• Dan Tapiero Interview: Institutional Insights
   

🏆 What's New at CoinBureau.com This Week? 🏆

✅ The Graph Review: The "Google of Blockchains"?

✅ dappOS and Manta Network Launch Ecosystem Growth Program Season 1

✅ What are Testnets? Ethereum Testnets Explained!

✅ Render Network Review: Next-Level Decentralised Computing

✅ Is Monero Anonymous? How Untraceable is XMR?

📖 Quote of the Week 📖

Sometimes, navigating the crypto market can be daunting - especially for those new to it. That’s why Team Coin Bureau is here to help guide you on that journey.

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows” - Sydney J. Harris

Team Coin Bureau

Disclosure: Authors may own cryptoassets named in this newsletter. These are unqualified opinions, and a Coin Bureau newsletter, is meant for informational purposes only. It is not meant to serve as investment advice. Please consult with your investment, tax, or legal advisor.