Genesis 23 Q2 Quarterly Report
Genesis 23 Q2 Quarterly Report
Genesis 23 Q2 Quarterly Report
Q2 Market
Observations
Introduction
Arriving at the mid-point of 2023, the digital asset space has taken on More Information
a decidedly transitional feel awaiting the next watershed moment. Q2 To learn more about Genesis, or
to work together with the Genesis
saw the arrival of new players set against the prior quarter’s washouts team, contact us at:
of industry stalwarts, prospective new product filings in the wake of
[email protected]
sweeping regulatory enforcement, and fresh rulings on the judicial front www.genesistrading.com
that have begun to assuage chronic concerns about the statutory status
of certain digital assets. Press
All press inquiries should be
directed to:
With a robust rally in prices that once more pushed bitcoin above the
[email protected]
$30,000 threshold, the April-June period also eclipsed the anniversaries
of some of the prior year’s mayhem, which have begun to feel increasingly
distant as progress for the industry on multiple fronts swamps legacy
challenges.
Bruhaha
Trading rhythms alone typically do not set the tone on a three-month
horizon or longer. In much the same way that Q2’s market activity saw
an extension of established practices, a renewed focus on managing
counterparty risk continued to drive client engagement as market
participants evaluated firms with which to continue working after the
succession of collapses that now spans crypto trading venues, banking
providers and custodians.
Q2 saw a far more significant amount of activity than might have been
expected with such range-bound markets, as BTC traded listlessly
between ~27,000 and ~30,000. Global banking destabilization, exchange
solvency concerns, and the resolution of regulatory battles dominated
the landscape as constructive sentiment returned with the Fed’s
prospective pause on interest rate hikes and BlackRock’s application
for its institutional Bitcoin product. With the latter milestones coming to
the foreground, the desk observed an increase in client activity across
Trend Following
At this juncture, the once-heterogenous ecosystem of cryptocurrency 1 Bitcoin Liquidity Dries Up With
‘Tourists’ Recoiling From Chaos,
venues has begun to converge into two definitive focal points: OTC Bloomberg
and listed trading. Within these two domains, each now entails its own 2 Trade Volume Surging to Start 2023,
Conor Ryder, CFA, Kaiko
taxonomical hierarchy for trading spot, linear derivatives, and, most
3 CCDATA: 10 May 2023: “Derivatives
critically for our desk, options. In that context, there were comparatively trading volume on centralised exchanges
few new trends in Q2 2023, but rather a solidification and acceleration fell 23.3% to $2.15tn in April. However,
the market share of derivatives reached
of those persistent phenomena, of which many have been flagged in a new all-time high for the second
chronically flagging2, it has become increasingly apparent that a 5 Bitcoin Options Volume Soars Above
significant portion3 of the future growth of crypto volumes will be in $3.3 Billion In 24 Hours As BTC Price
Sniffs $31,000, ZyCrypto
derivatives4. Deribit, the apex crypto options exchange, set a fresh 6 Institutional-sized Bitcoin and
YTD high for the number of option contracts traded in a 24-hour Ether futures contracts launching
on Coinbase Derivatives Exchange,
window as bitcoin reclaimed the $30,000 mark5. The second quarter Coinbase
also witnessed the launch of onshore institutional-sized fixed date 7 CME Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH)
and offshore perpetual futures by Coinbase6. At the time of the writing Options Volume Rose to $940M in July:
CCData, Coindesk
of this report, CME crypto options volumes have seen a material
pickup in volume by nearly 25% to ~$1bn, even as futures trading
volumes fell, boding well for a continuation of the trend that options
are increasingly seen as the go-to instrument for institutional players7.
$4.0B
$3.0B
$2.0B
$1.0B
$0.0B
17-Jul-22 17-Aug-22 17-Sep-22 17-Oct-22 17-Nov-22 17-Dec-22 17-Jan-23 17-Feb-23 17-Mar-23 17-Apr-23 17-May-23 17-Jun-23 17-Jul-23
Source: Laevitas
$12,000B
$10,000B
$8,000B
$6,000B
$4,000B
$2,000B
$0B
Jun-20 Oct-20 Feb-21 Jun-21 Oct-21 Feb-22 Jun-22 Oct-22 Feb-23 Jun-23
Source: CCData
$45B
$40B
$35B
$30B
$25B
$20B
$15B
$10B
$5B
$0B
Dec-20 Mar-21 Jun-21 Sep-21 Dec-21 Mar-22 Jun-22 Sep-22 Dec-22 Mar-23 Jun-23
Source: Messari, Kaiko
2. Institutionalization
Just as crypto mainstays like Coinbase rolled out new offerings, Q2
also heralded the arrival of an establishment armada which appears
now to be docked on the shores of this asset class. We view this
development as the omen of a bright future that foreshadows a
restoration of access, a proliferation of fresh products/services,
and an unblocking of legal logjams. All of which will contribute
meaningfully to the texture of a marketplace that, by the numbers,
has been sizing up as a secular consideration. Block trade volumes,
a proxy for institutional grade activity, have been rising relatively
unabated for some time. The prospective ability to express views
on crypto majors through one or more spot-based ETFs managed
by household TradFi names like BlackRock and Fidelity alongside a
spot-trading venue (EDX) supported by them (and their peers) is likely
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
15-Aug-22 15-Nov-22 15-Feb-23 15-May-23
Source: Amberdata
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
15-Aug-22 15-Nov-22 15-Feb-23 15-May-23
Source: Amberdata
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Source: Laevitas
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
1-Jan-21 1-May-21 1-Sep-21 1-Jan-22 1-May-22 1-Sep-22 1-Jan-23 1-May-23
Source: Paradigm
leg packages, which provide payoff profiles that reflect the distinctive
demands of various pools of capital being put to work in crypto.
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23
Source: Amberdata
This has placed an added burden on market makers, who must handle
outsized, concentrated flows from such corners, whereby the risks
of zero-sum interactions may increase. According to an exhaustive
analysis conducted by industry peers, there may be negative expected
value for blindly providing liquidity absent requisite conditionality on
knowing the absolute magnitude of flows in advance and intimately
understanding multi-player game theoretic dynamics, including pre-
existing strike risk in the market and simultaneous taker activity.
4. Macrofication
More so than at any time in crypto’s brief history, clients now rely on 8 Russia has risen to second place in
the world in cryptocurrency mining,
digital asset trading instruments to express non-idiosyncratic views Kommersant
on various outcomes. These range from macroeconomic vectors 9 Russia Becomes World’s Second-
Largest Crypto Miner, The Moscow
like inflation and growth to policy-driven considerations like interest Times
rates and debt limits, including cross-asset plays on crypto vs. equity 10 Marathon Teams Up With Abu Dhabi’s
or commodities and digital asset volatility vs. traditional asset vol. Zero Two for Middle East’s First Large-
Scale Immersion-Cooled Bitcoin
Moreover, there is a growing awareness that crypto now constitutes a Mining, CoinDesk
measurable share of worldwide economic activity, even if only by proxy.
digital asset ecosystem. With the supposition that such mining could
eventually lead to the holding of crypto on the balance sheet of one of
the world’s wealthiest monarchies, Bitcoin has lobbed a counterpoint
to the prevailing invective surrounding digital asset use in developing
economies which often rely on crypto in some measure to keep the
wheels of commerce greased (such as West Africa, Latin America,
MENA, and North Asia).
Conclusion
The second quarter of 2023 may be remembered as the moment
the establishment commenced its veritable land grab for crypto.
Yet strangely, it has also been characterized by a material degree of
apathy from a wide swath of industry participants. With the landmark
announcements of fresh spot-based ETF applications by some of the
world’s largest asset managers, a watershed judicial victory, and the
drumbeat of new trading venues and products offered by marquee
TradFi and crypto-native shops, there were plenty of catalysts for fresh
cyclical highs. Instead, we saw a tendency toward skeptical reception
from several respected crypto pundits, which jived with a market that
appeared eager to fade a breakout higher.
But the reality is that they are numbers, perhaps take profit targets
for tactical players, buy-in limits for momentum-driven investors, or
merely technical heuristics for those who find the occasion to draw
the lines higher or lower on any given chart. The truth is in the statistics
about volumes, volatility, margins, price trends, and the breadth of
participation. When viewed with an elongated perspective, Q2 2023
appears, therefore, to be affirmative in most respects.
Genesis Global Trading, Inc. and its global affiliates (collectively, “Genesis”) do not provide legal, compliance, tax or accounting advice.
Accordingly, to the extent there is any discussion of U.S. tax matters included in these materials, it is not intended or written to be used,
and cannot be used or relied upon, by you for the purpose of avoiding any tax penalties and may have been written in connection with
the promotion or marketing of any transaction contemplated hereby. You should seek professional advice in respect of your specific
circumstances from an independent tax advisor. This presentation and the material contained herein are confidential and may not be
distributed in whole or in part to anyone other than the intended recipients. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of all or any of this
material or the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Neither this presentation nor any related discussion may be disclosed or
used for any purpose other than as described below without the prior written consent of Genesis. These materials were prepared exclusively
for the benefit and use of the Genesis client or the potential Genesis client to whom it is directly delivered and/or addressed (the “Company”)
in order to assist the Company in evaluating, on a preliminary basis, the feasibility of a possible transaction or transactions or other business
Genesis provides its services solely in connection with supported digital currencies. Genesis trading services are available to select qualified
institutional investors and accredited individuals (a) who have assets equal to or greater than $10mm (including digital currency holdings,
as applicable) and (b) who are interested in (i) trading amounts equivalent to at least USD $250,000 (whether in cash or digital assets) per
transaction, or (ii) lending or borrowing at least 100 BTC, 1,000 ETH or USD $2,000,000, whether in cash or stablecoins. Any prices or levels
contained herein are preliminary and indicative only and do not represent bids or offers. These indications are provided solely for your
information and consideration, are subject to change at any time without notice and are not intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation to
purchase any financial instrument. Nothing contained herein shall constitute any representation or warranty as to future performance of
any financial instrument, credit, currency rate or other market or economic measure. In preparing this presentation, we have relied upon
and assumed, without independent verification, the accuracy and completeness of all information available from public sources or which
was provided to us by or on behalf of the Company or which was otherwise reviewed by us. Genesis does not make any representations
or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided herein. Any estimates included herein
constitute our judgment as of the date hereof represent potential future events that may or may not be realized and are not a complete
analysis of every material fact representing any product. Any estimates included herein constitute our judgment as of the date hereof and
are subject to change without any notice. We and/or our affiliates may make a market in these instruments for our customers and for our own
account. Accordingly, Genesis may have a position in any such instrument at any time.
Genesis and Genesis Trading are marketing names for certain businesses of Genesis Global Trading, Inc. and its global affiliates and if
and as used herein may include as applicable employees or officers of any or all of such entities irrespective of the marketing name used.
Products and services may be provided by affiliates as may be appropriate to provide such services under applicable law. Securities and
digital assets are not deposits or other obligations of any commercial bank, are not guaranteed by any commercial bank and are not insured
by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. GGC International Limited is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”). BVI law may
restrict the types of tradable instruments. Genesis Global Trading, Inc, a Delaware corporation, has been granted a Virtual Currency License
© 2023 Genesis Global Trading, Inc. All rights reserved. “Genesis”, the Genesis logo, and other Genesis trademarks and service marks
referenced herein are trademarks and service marks of Genesis and are used and registered throughout the world.