MARKET MOVERS
- Investors exited BTC positions worth a record $7.3 billion. In just over the past few days, this amounted to the biggest U.S. dollar-denominated losses in the asset’s history. Approximately 555,000 BTC has changed hands between prices of $18,000 and $23,000, a strong support and resistance level ranged over the past few days. Losses ranged between $1.5 billion and $2 billion each day, data shows. Read more here.
- Solend tried to take over a ‘whale’ account. The lending platform built on the Solana blockchain said that if SOL drops to $22.30, the whale’s account becomes liquidatable for up to 20% of their borrows (~$21M). It’d be difficult for the market to absorb such an impact since liquidators generally market sell on DEXes. Solend passed a proposal granting it emergency powers to take over the whale account, an unprecedented move in the DeFi world. Read more here.
- Labor shortage stymies construction work. This comes as the $1 trillion infrastructure spending kicks in. The workforce is on average older and retiring, while younger potential workers are reluctant to sign up for jobs they consider dirty and dangerous, which may not always offer the same flexibility or pay to work from home or an air-conditioned office.
- Small businesses fall behind on hiring as inflation takes a toll. Head counts at companies with fewer than 50 employees declined in three of the past four months, according to ADP payroll data, even as employment at larger firms continued to grow. Owners of many small companies say inflation made it increasingly difficult to keep pace with the wages and benefits offered by large employers.
- MakerDAO pauses some Aave-related lending activity. The organization cast the vote to disable the DAI Direct Deposit Module on Aave, which effectively prevents traders from borrowing the stablecoin against a troubled derivative token stETH, citing adverse market conditions. Out of 200 million DAI borrowed on Aave Ethereum v2, 100 million DAI is being borrowed by Celsius and collateralized mostly by stETH.
- Housing inventory is up 18.5% year-over-year. As of June 17th, inventory was at 419 thousand (7-day average), compared to 396 thousand the prior week. Inventory was up 5.6% from the previous week. Inventory is increasing much faster than normal for this time of year in percentage terms and total inventory added. But inventory is still historically low. Compared to the same week in 2021. Read more here.
WHAT TO WATCH
- ETF that bets against Bitcoin to launch. ProShares said it will launch on Tuesday a short-Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund, called Short Bitcoin Strategy. The ETF, which will have the ticker BITI, seeks to track the inverse performance of the S&P CME Bitcoin Futures Index and will have an expense ratio of 0.95%. For ETF investors, the usual benefits and risks of an inverse ETF apply. Read more here.
- Pfizer to buy 8.1% stake in French vaccines company Valneva. The U.S. pharmaceutical giant will buy Valneva for €9.49 per share, via a reserved capital increase, according to a statement. The French firm said it will use Pfizer’s investment to support its contribution to the Phase 3 development of the Lyme disease vaccine VLA15, which should begin in the third quarter of this year.
- Volvo has started testing trucks with hydrogen-powered fuel cells. The Swedish firm is claiming that its range could extend to as much as 1,000 kilometers or a little over 621 miles. It also said refueling of the vehicles would take under 15 minutes. Customer pilots are set to begin in the next few years, with commercialization “planned for the latter part of this decade.”
- Property prices could contract an annual 5% by the middle of next year. According to Capital Economics, US house prices are likely to fall as mortgage rates exceed 6% crimping affordability for the average buyer. That will reduce the competition for homes, and sellers will eventually see the need to accept a lower price for their property. Read more here.
