The Markets are Moving! Let’s break through the FUD/Hype to see what’s actually going on.

Today, we’re diving into:

• 📈Empowered Investor: The Bitcoin Big Picture, Experimenting with DeFi Flash Loans

• 🔧Growth Toolkit: Trading vs. Healthy Life Mindset

PLUS: 

• 💡Community Highlight: Meet Teaona

• 🔊Spaces Alpha: Avoid Being Scammed

📈Empowered Investor

This week's most significant events and what they mean, to help you make informed decisions.

Bitcoin Big Picture 📈 (4 mins)

Bitcoin price action and clues for future moves.

With Bitcoin’s recent change in direction, uncertainty is back and people are questioning the strength of this run. Let’s take a look the data behind the price action.

With Bitcoin’s move down yesterday, over $300 million in long positions were liquidated which highlights one important thing:

Bitcoin loves taking out these high liquidity levels! 

And we’ve got one more major one, ripe for the picking, at the $34k zone (over $2 Billion in positions).

These levels can act in two different ways:

1. Magnets: historically, these levels pull price action towards them.

2. Support/Resistance: in this case, support, because there is so much activity at this level, often bulls will see this as an optimal level to buy.

Volume by Price:

• The yellow and blue indicators on the right side of this chart represents volume by price.

• High Volume areas, like we are in now, traps price and slows it down. If we can break above $40k (yellow line), the path to $45k will be smoother.

• We also have strong support at the $30-31k level, which I see as a worst-case scenario level for the near future.

Trend Analysis:

• Banged our heads on the top of this ascending range. Likely we will have to rebuild momentum to revisit it, and even more to break through.

On Chain Analysis⛓

• aSOPR: more investors are selling at a profit within the last 7 days, but not at a crazy high level. This does support the current correction, and may only indicate a short term top.

• Binary CDD: Long term holders movements in the last 7 days was minimal, telling us that they are still HODLING!

• Derivatives: bullish sentiment here. The funding rates have been quite green in the past week. When this happens, a cool off period is necessary which we are seeing now.

Remember, the most important step when buying or selling assets is to have a calm and objective mindset. We’ll dive into that soon, but before we do…

Let’s have some fun.

DeFi Flash Loans (3 mins)

What the heck are they, and how can they be used. Putting our money where our mouths are and sharing the results with you.

In our last X space, we spoke with our friend Kornel, who has been diving deep into the DeFi scene.

He brought up a concept that peaked our interest - Flash Loans. We decided to dig into this topic to understand what it’s all about, experiment with it, and share our results with you.

We dedicated this last week to learning so that, next week, we will drop some funds to see how it works and share it all, right here, in Growth Bytes.

So first of all, what are Flash Loans?

Flash Loans: uncollateralized (you don’t need to put up any funds up front) loans in DeFi that allow you to borrow any amount of tokens from a liquidity pool, BUT the loan must be returned within the same transaction.

If the loan is not repaid within that block, the entire transaction is reversed, as if it never happened. Seems crazy right? This is exactly why we want to learn about this.

Apparently in this fraction of a second of borrowing these funds, you can use them for things like:

1. Arbitrage: Exploiting price differences across exchanges.

2. Collateral Swaps: Swapping collateral in a DeFi loan without closing the position.

3. Self-Liquidation: Paying off a loan to avoid liquidation penalties.

4. Portfolio Rebalancing: Quick rebalancing of investment portfolios.

If you’re like me, this sounds too good to be true. Let’s explore the risks and challenges:

1. Smart Contract Vulnerabilities: The reliance on smart contracts means that any bugs can lead to significant losses.

2. Market Volatility: High market volatility can affect the strategies used in flash loans.

3. Operational Risks: Mistakes in the execution of a flash loan strategy can lead to financial losses.

4. Regulatory Uncertainty: The regulatory framework for such instruments is still unclear in many jurisdictions.

So what’s our next move? Over the next week, Victor and I are going to check out these platforms who are offering Flash Loans, to see what’s involved and try them out for ourselves:

• Aave: One of the first platforms to offer flash loans.

• dYdX: Offers flash loans, primarily for trading.

Whether we crash and burn, make it to the moon, or somewhere in between, stay tuned for our next edition of Growth Bytes to see how we do.

🔧Growth Toolkit

Weekly tips and resources to grow as a person and as a web3 builder.

Balancing the Scales: Trading vs. Healthy Life Mindset 🧠 (4 mins)

In the world of trading and the demanding profession of trauma nursing, I've walked a tightrope between two mindsets: the razor sharp focus to perform and the holistic approach needed for a healthy life.

My journey through PTSD, from years of neglecting mental health in a challenging nursing career is eerily similar to the rollercoaster of my early trading attempts.

The Trading Mindset: A Double-Edged Sword

As a trader, I've experienced the adrenaline rush of making moonshots, driven by a blend of knowledge, instinct, and, admittedly, a healthy dose of greed. Trading involves a mindset of precision, calm decision-making and an almost mastery of the two emotional enemies: Greed and Fear.

However, when unchecked, our minds can lead us down a path of emotional trading, where fear and greed overshadow rational decision-making. For me, this lead to more losses than I am comfortable to admit.

The Healthy Life Mindset: A Journey of Self-Care

Breaking down after years of pushing taught me the value of a healthy life mindset. This approach emphasizes balance, self-awareness, and the importance of mental and emotional well-being. Ignoring these, as I did for years, led to my personal battle with PTSD.

It was a wake-up call how damn important it is to address mental health with the same seriousness as my professional responsibilities.

Actionable Steps for a Balanced Trading Mindset:

1. Emotional Discipline: Train yourself to recognize emotional responses like fear and greed. Practice detachment and stick to your trading plan. Before you even log onto your computer, take a moment to reflect:

• How am I actually feeling right now?

• How did I sleep last night?

• What have I done today to make sure my mind is present?

2. Continuous Learning: Stay informed and educated about market trends and trading strategies. Knowledge is a powerful tool against emotional trading.

3. Risk Management: Set clear limits on how much you're willing to risk. This helps in making calculated decisions rather than emotional ones. Also, it helps beyond measure to diversify your portfolio in terms of holding. For example, my portfolio looks like this:

• 50% - Long term bluechip assets $BTC, $ETH

• 30% - Mid-long term Altcoins such as $SOL, $ARB, $MATIC etc.

• 15% - Short Term and High Risk directional plays.

• 5% - USDT on hand for any big opportunities.

This keeps me from putting all my eggs in one basket. Note that these percentages change as crypto switches from trending to ranged.

4. Mindfulness Practices: Incorporate mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques into your daily routine. This can enhance focus and decision-making in trading.

• I journal every day.

• Exercising daily is non-negotiable.

• 10 mins per day of mindful meditation.

• Dial in my sleep routine, diet, and

5. Seek Professional Help: If you're struggling with mental health issues, don't hesitate to seek professional help. It's as crucial for your trading success as it is for your personal well-being.

The journey through the high-pressure realms of trading and trauma nursing has been worth it. The lessons learned have changed me for the better, and it can do the same for you.

A successful trading mindset requires discipline, knowledge, and emotional control, while a healthy life mindset needs balance, self-care, and emotional intelligence. By embracing both, we can navigate the challenges of trading and life with resilience and clarity.

💡Community Highlight

Recognition for our Web3 Matters community members who are making a difference.

Meet Teaona🙏

Teaona. Is. Awesome.

He is one of the most supportive people we know. Every day he is present on the Yeti-Apes Server, hosting events and keeping the vibes positive.

He also represents the incredible Wildcat Alliance, who we’ve personally collaborated with multiple times, and are absolutely crushing it in Web3… Web5 and beyond.

Count on interacting with Teaona and leaving happy and motivated. The love he brings each day is inspiring, and we are so grateful to have connected with this legend.

Connect with Teaona on X and see for yourself.

Want to be featured in our next newsletter?

Join us for our next episode of Web3 Matters 👇

🔊Spaces Alpha

Every Friday at 2 pm EST / 7 pm UTC. 

This week we are diving into Safety in Web3.

Our mission is to provide you with actionable value from solid research and experts, and we will over deliver this week, no question.

The Open Chain is not only highly educated in this matter, but he is an amazing friend, and core member of the Web3 Matters Community.

Look forward to a vibrant discussion about this topic, and step back into the Web3 world with confidence.

Check out the link below and set your reminders ✅

Finally, we'll be giving away exclusive thank-you gifts to our early supporters, so be sure to invite your friends to subscribe to Growth Bytes. Link below 👇️ 

http://web3bytes.beehiiv.com/subscribe