The crypto sentiment is bearish. During these times, the narrative has self-fulfilling prophecies of doom and impending destruction. But remember, the biggest opportunities come when there’s blood in the streets.
When systems fail, there are opportunities for change that could create a more robust economy. In the financial world, a bank failure is considered catastrophic. But what happens when that bank is a crypto bank and crypto is being used as the scape goat for a faltering legacy system? Well, it’s time to remind people why we’re here!
This month, Decred’s PR outreach and updates include pitching 2 commentary and 8 media opportunities, and securing the following media placements.
Trezor move into semiconductor business
An article in Cointelegraph featuring commentary from @jz on Trezor crypto wallet’s move into the semiconductor business. The article was syndicated to 14 publications including Ethereum Today and Bitcoin Insider.
Prashant Jha
Extract from the article:
Crypto wallet maker Trezor recently decided to start manufacturing its own hardware wallet chips to respond quickly to demand-triggering events like the FTX collapse.
Trezor announced on Feb. 27 that it would begin producing the chip wrapper, a crucial component for the Trezor Model T — its flagship device. The move will reportedly cut the supply cycle lead times from two years to a few months in the production of Trezor wallets.
Manufacturing proprietary hardware in-house mitigates supply chain issues plagued by various external factors such as shipment delays, product quality and shipment damage. This potentially reduces their exposure to the types of shortages that have plagued manufacturers over the last few years.
However, the same approach might not work for every other crypto-related firm, especially crypto mining companies. Zeppettini cited the example of application-specific integrated circuits used in cryptocurrency mining, which require advanced manufacturing techniques for their production:
“It would likely take years and tens of billions of dollars of investment to become competitive with TSMC and Samsung’s 7 nm chips. States, however, are recognizing the importance of chip manufacturing as a national security issue and encouraging companies of strategic interest to diversify their manufacturing bases.”
U.S. banking crisis on crypto
An article in CoinDesk featuring commentary from @jz on the long term effects of the U.S. banking crisis on crypto. The article was syndicated to three publications including Yahoo! Finance and Markets Insider.
Shaurya Malwa
Extract from the article:
Brushing off bearish sentiment that has emerged in crypto circles over the past few days, some market observers say the breakdown of crypto-focused banks can have benefits for the crypto ecosystem over the long term.
Last week, stocks fell as regulators shut Silicon Valley Bank after investors withdrew their deposits en masse. The news hit crypto markets a day later when traders reacted to reports that USD coin (USDC) issuer Circle Internet Financial held over $3.3 billion in reserves at Silicon Valley. That led to USDC redemptions and to the price of the coin, which is supposed to be pegged to $1, falling to as low as 87 cents.
In a separate move, crypto-focused Signature Bank (SBNY) was shut by regulators over the weekend.
Jonathan Zeppettini, head of international operations at cryptocurrency issuer Decred, said: "The situation with Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature is a combination of a few things banks failing to properly hedge interest rate risk, a classic bank run stemming from that illiquidity as they are forced to realize losses if they do not hold those assets to maturity and opportunism by regulators to force the unwind of banks that are seen as 'crypto-friendly.'”
The “attempt to restrict liquidity” was the result of governments trying to strangle many of the weaker, relatively unregulated players and eventually set back adoption.
Zeppettini, whose long-term outlook remains optimistic, said clampdowns could eventually create a more robust crypto economy.
“It may end up having the opposite effect as exchanges and other players in the industry move offshore to jurisdictions that are courting financial technology innovators, leading to more robust infrastructure and less hostility”.
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