Up until the start of this week, Bitcoin (

The market is searching for firmer footing

A lot of crypto-focused companies and investment groups have exposure to FTX and Alameda research, which also means these same companies now have some holes in their own balance sheets.

A handful of these crypto-native companies also hold significant-sized bags of assorted altcoins and decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens. To salvage the current losses, make good on their own loans, and meet their client obligations, it’s possible that a number of these BTC, altcoin and DeFi token stashes could find their way to being market sold on spot exchanges.

Altcoins are already down badly, and some are relatively illiquid, meaning a sharp increase in selling could put strong downward pressure on price.

Before buying what looks like once-in-a-life-time dips and cycle bottoms, investors should dig around and take a closer look at who are some of the majority holders of the token/project and remember that FTX’s multi-billion-dollar implosion is yet to be fully felt throughout the sector.

Now is the time to research and do due diligence before making any investment in any cryptocurrency.

This newsletter was written by Big Smokey, the author of The Humble Pontificator Substack and resident newsletter author at Cointelegraph. Each Friday, Big Smokey will write market insights, trending how-tos, analyses and early-bird research on potential emerging trends within the crypto market.