Majors slammed, woozy

All investments and trading are risky and may result in the loss of capital. Cryptoassets are largely unregulated and are therefore not subject to protection.

Interest rates, as measured by that key barometer, the 10-year Treasury note, are climbing to levels not seen in a few years. This is happening amidst a horrific war with no end in sight and rock/hard place-hampered centralized money supply machinations.

The 10-year's yield increased a few basis points to 2.866%, as of 5:45 a.m. (EST). It’s a level unseen in more than three years and reflects traders’ imaginations wrestling with food/energy inflation ramification scenarios which hinge nightmarishly on the new phase of the Russia-Ukraine war, the fight for the Donbas region. Ukraine has adequate troop numbers and high morale but lacks equipment; Russia still has vastly superior weaponry, but fighters are said to be spiritually depleted and measurably undisciplined. Defying a Russian demand to surrender, the remaining Ukrainian forces in the southern port of Mariupol are continuing to fight (CNBC).

Around Easter of 2018, the 10-year crossed 3% on the back of inflation fears (that ultimately never materialized) and as the Fed signaled it would tighten, stifling a stimulus-addicted stock market. Still, at the time, there was an argument to be made that a 3% rate was normal and a sign of a strong economy that didn't require historically low rates and extraordinary Fed balance sheet expansion.

At the top of the crypto heap there's a load of trouble. Bitcoin is in jeopardy of slipping below $39,000, having shed 3% in 24 hours as of 8:09 a.m. (EST). BTC has lost 7.5% in the past seven days. Ethereum has declined by 9% in that span.

The two most popular cryptos have been in a slump for weeks, possibly in part because of mining-related issues, said Decrypt.

Other issues are factoring into the erosion of total crypto market capitalization, which this past week fell by 10%. One huge consideration is the end of easy centralized money supply, sparking a rout in technology stocks, dragging down a crypto sector viewed by some as a tech-influenced play.

Additionally, tax-related selling seems to have contributed to weakness in the BTC market with the arrival of filing deadlines. For U.S. investors, the deadline to submit 2021 tax returns or ask for an extension is today. Last year, market players sold digital assets during the tax season, said CoinDesk citing CoinBase.

Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior market analyst, emailed Forbes an ominous BTC outlook scenario involving a consolidation below $38,000, snuffing out whatever mild upward trend has been struggling to assert itself, and forcing a capitulation of the bulls. Were that to happen, he said, BTC could be pushed into the $32,000 to $35,000 range "without much resistance."

Crypto developer Andre Cronje helped create the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, co-parenting, among other projects, Yearn Finance (YFI) and Fantom (FTM). About two years ago, Cronje became vocal about being disillusioned with what he helped bring about, and this past March he completely turned his back on the space, or so it seemed at the time.

In a blog post this morning, Cronje calls for DeFi regulation and broadly spells out a new next-phase of blockchain where "unknown wallets lurk in the shadows." YFI, at one time yield farming’s juggernaut du jour, was a most gaudy $90,000 last year at this time. The lending/borrowing protocol roll-up has sharply declined ever since. It began 2022 at $39,000. Cronje had at that juncture long moved on from having any formal role, but rumblings of his profound DeFi disdain certainly couldn't have been seen as a tailwind as YFI slid toward $20,000. It's $18,675 as of today, having declined 26% over the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, FTM has shed 31% in that time. At $1.10 currently, FTM is down 70% since its all-time high of $3.46, reached this past October.

"I have long been vocal on my disdain of crypto culture, and my love for crypto ethos," Cronje writes on Medium.

"Reading that might sound weird, but crypto ethos is concepts like self-sovereign rights, self custody, self empowerment. Crypto culture is concepts like wealth, entitlement, enrichment, and ego. Crypto culture has strangled crypto ethos."

Cronje predicts the rise of a new blockchain economy, regulated for its own protection and more apt to be driven by trust. As for what role he will have in this new age, Cronje is, well, of course, cryptic. But he finds himself "more excited than ever."

"I won’t step foot into the badlands again," the Father of DeFi writes. "But I’m vastly excited about this new future."