This editorial is from last week’s edition of the newsletter Week in Review. Subscribe to the newsletter to get this weekly editorial the second it’s finished. The newsletter also includes the biggest stories of the week with a comment on each story.
Key Takeaways:
Bitcoin rose 4% as BTC, ETH, and SOL gained, showing risk appetite despite oil and macro stress. Kraken, CoW Swap, and Hyperbridge hacks hit trust; Ethereum Foundation launched audit support next. Bitfinex said whale buying is the strongest since 2013; Bitcoin may test $90K as supply tightens. Week in ReviewNot all risk appetite disappeared. It just showed up in more degenerate places.
A market can rally while venture appetite dries up. In fact, that combination often tells you something useful: liquid names may still run, but the willingness to finance new risk is fading. That is usually a sign that investors are becoming more selective, more skeptical, or both.
That also helps explain why hacks feel especially toxic right now. Security failure is no longer happening in an environment of abundant patience and endless capital. It is happening in an environment where trust is already scarce.
-Alex Richardson
