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This Was the Year 2023 in Crypto – Part Two: The Second Half
In the first part of this two-part series, we looked at what mattered in crypto from January to June of 2023, in part two we will see what dominated the rest of an exciting year.
July 2023
The second half of the year saw Bitcoin (BTC) drop 4% from USD $30,471 (AUD $45,733) to USD $29,278 (AUD $43,963) while Solana (SOL) started to show signs of life, going from USD $18.90 (AUD $28.36) to USD $24.26 (AUD $36.43).
Bitcoin is now up over 80% in 2023 already with a sizable amount of growth after June 15, when Spot Bitcoin ETF applications start to dominate the scene. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said that ETFs had played a major role in the changes to the mutual fund industry and he believed Spot Bitcoin ETFs will play a similar role – calling BTC an international asset.
Let’s be clear: Bitcoin is an international asset, it’s not based on any one currency and so it can represent an asset that people can play as an alternative.
Larry Fink Meanwhile, the case of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto firm Ripple delivers a landmark ruling. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the defendant did not violate laws when selling XRP to the public, as these sales did not constitute securities. However, institutional sales did. XRP shot up on the news only to get back to its price from prior to the ruling.
August 2023
The month saw the biggest drop in Bitcoin in 2023, plummeting over 11% from USD $29,230 (AUD $43,524) to USD $27,301 (AUD $42,137) by the month’s end.
In the news, the month was marked with confusing rumours about SpaceX writing down its Bitcoin holdings, while the company postponed its Dogecoin inspired moon mission yet again. At the end of August Grayscale had a massive win against the SEC, with the judge telling the regulator it must review its objection to a conversion of a Bitcoin trust to a Spot ETF. Meanwhile the SEC delayed seven more Spot Bitcoin ETF applications.
Crypto’s most recognisable lawyer John E. Deaton highlighted the importance of the Grayscale win.
It’s a massive win for Bitcoin, BTC miners, Coinbase, and the Crypto industry in general. Does it mean the Grayscale Spot ETF, along with the others, will be granted immediately? No. But a spot ETF is happening. The relevant question is whether it will in 2023?
John E. Deaton September 2023
Bitcoin recovered slightly, in what in hindsight amounted to a massive end-of-year rally. BTC gained 4% overall this month, with a drop at the beginning of the month down to USD $25,934 (AUD $39,982) ending the month at USD $26,911 (AUD $41,866).
September was the month Worldcoin made headlines with its ‘Iris scanning for coin theme,’ while the US introduced new accounting rules which would make it easier for companies to hold and disclose their crypto holdings.
Meanwhile, tokenisation of real-world assets was heating up with Chainlink taking the lead in the domain including Australian bank ANZ. And of course, not a month goes past without some legal controversy, with New York regulator Department of Financial Services revealing a ‘new green list.’
The list of approved crypto assets dropped XRP, Dogecoin, Litecoin and others and now only Bitcoin, Ethereum, some stablecoins such as Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Pax Gold (PAXG), and PayPal Dollar (PYUSD) are enjoying legal status in the Big Apple. Australian lawyer Bill Morgan called out the controversy in the light of the earlier XRP ruling.
October 2023
This month almost all crypto assets rallied, with BTC going up over 28%, ending the month at USD $34,500 (AUD $54,165). The real show-stopper though turned out to be Solana (SOL) which went from USD $21.39 (AUD $33.28) to USD $34.96 (AUD $54.89) by the end of the month.
The dominating news event of the month was the FTX SBF trial which started in New York City in October. The trial, which was crypto’s biggest legal case to date, revealed many interesting details, among some, SBF’s ambitions to become US president. This ambition is now out of reach, potentially for the next 115 years, which is how long the former CEO, found guilty of all fraud charges, may face in jail.
Meanwhile the late Charlie Munger said crypto will go to zero, despite this most observers believed in an end to the crypto winter, amid some predictions that Ethereum may go to USD $8,000 (AUD $11,746) soon.
In Australia the Reserve Bank and Mastercard announced a successful CBDC trial. And Larry Fink called Bitcoin “Flight to Quality” after initial false reports of a SEC Spot Bitcoin ETF approval – with commentators seemingly suggesting Fink was looking for a job in Bitcoin’s marketing department.
November 2023
It was another strong month for Bitcoin and the overall market. BTC gained almost 9% ending the month at USD $37,861 (AUD $57,215), but Solana really started to shine gaining over 50% during the month, ending it at USD $59.25 (AUD $89.54).
The Solana narrative was centre stage in the news, with hype building around Solana Firedancer, an open-source validator client for the Solana blockchain which is poised to deliver incredible transaction speed. Investor Raoul Pal expected Solana to take off like a rocket ship – which of course it continued to do.
The SBF trial also came to an end, for now, as he was unanimously found guilty and is awaiting sentencing and further charges in 2024. The month also had some drama surrounding influencer BitBoy, and the Australian Crypto Convention kicked off, with Michael Saylor speculating about where the Bitcoin price could end up. Sadly, the investing world lost one of its greatest, with Charlie Munger, a stern crypto opponent, dying at age 99 – RIP Charlie.
The month also saw a lot of news and speculations around the Spot Bitcoin ETFs and a little-known meme coin went bonkers.
December 2023
The end of the year was no reason for Bitcoin to slow down, as it gained another 12% finishing the year at USD $42,152 (AUD $61,851), a 160% return over the year. While impressive, Solana was the coin that outperformed them all, going from the start of December from USD $59.24 (AUD $89.67) to USD $101.84 (AUD $149.44), which marked a second month in a row with absolutely insane price performance.
In the news talk about the ETFs continues with expectations building for an early January 2024 approval. The Bank of International Settlement reveals its work on cash-like anonymous CBDCs, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s Chief slams crypto saying he would shut it down, and the SEC Chair turned his gaze towards artificial intelligence.
And Crypto News Australia interviewed Banxa CEO Holger Arians, who spoke about the legal challenges in the space and his positive outlook despite these challenges.
We are in a very early-stage industry where the whole market and more importantly the regulation hasn’t really been established yet in a very fluid situation. We believe that you just cannot ignore the market anymore. There are 50 million crypto users in the US, twice Australia’s population. It’s too big to ignore. You do have to regulate and there’s nothing more that the industry wants than clear rules and guidelines. And not enforcement action; that needs to stop.
Holger Arians You can read the first part of the year 2023 in crypto here.
Author
Aaron Feuerstein
Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.
