There's no denying our rather cautious approach to crypto markets as of late.

Bitcoin's hanging on by a thread. And the broader trend in risk markets has been lower, in a messy fashion.

So, given this backdrop, what's to be said about crypto-related equities?

Yesterday, we framed this market action in a rather dramatic tone, arguing that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are staring into the abyss.

With Bitcoin testing its year-to-date lows, there's little in the way preventing crypto assets from experiencing yet another significant leg down in the penultimate stages of this year.

So, alongside the commentary in yesterday's letter, we want to approach this market from two angles and let money flow dictate our execution.

Let's dive in.

Over the weekend, we've seen risk-off action persist following hotter-than-expected inflation data.

Following the Ethereum merge, most coins have sold off rather aggressively. Bitcoin now lies on a key level of support at its year-to-date lows, while a large number of altcoins have already made new lows.

For us to flip to a more bearish approach, we'd need to see Bitcoin confirm this internal weakness, which would manifest through a downward break of the 18,000 support band.

We were traveling this week and didn't hold our regular Crypto Friday Strategy Session on September 16, 2022. But we did prepare the usual chartbook.

Earlier this morning, the long-awaited Ethereum merge was finalized.

Ethereum has successfully transitioned into the proof-of-stake (PoS) model, leaving Bitcoin as the only proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain of scale.

This is a major turning point, particularly in an ideological sense. The debate between the PoS and PoW frameworks will only intensify following this transition.

Risk markets tanked yesterday after the release of CPI data for August, as inflation numbers ran hot against expectations.

Crypto markets especially felt the heat, with Bitcoin dropping 10% on the day and Ethereum posting an 8.5% drop.

With the CPI print behind us, yet another volatile event is on the horizon. That's the Ethereum merge, which is on track to happen in the next 24 hours.

In the past, we've mentioned that the merge is merely a narrative, as Ethereum is just tracking with the equity markets.

While this still holds true, it would be natural to expect a brief decoupling between Ethereum and equities, given the skewed positioning within the futures markets.

Yesterday, we talked about the likelihood that Ethereum funding would dip in parabolic fashion leading to the merge.

And, since then, funding has taken a dramatic hit.

We're a day away from the anticipated Ethereum merge, by which the network will transition from a Proof-of-Work to a Proof-of-Stake model.

Investors are clearly hedging their positions moving into this event, with Ethereum perpetual swaps trading with rather bearish funding rates.

And Ethereum quarterlies have been trading firmly in backwardation, pointing to a strong flight to hedging positions.

To close the week, we saw a remarkable rally that drove Bitcoin prices up more than 10%. This was the largest single-day gain going back to February 28.

This came after Bitcoin tested the shelf of support near 19,000, while equity markets bounced on an important inflection point.

In last week's letter, we pointed out that buyers needed to step up and defend these levels, which they clearly have.

This is the video recording of our September 9, 2022, All Star Charts Crypto Weekly Strategy Session.

It's been a pretty lousy market out there...

There's been so little to discuss in the way of data points that'd pull us from the doldrums.

Strazza sent a brief note in our Slack chat to ask how many cryptos were below their June-July lows. This is when things were at their worst -- 3AC just got margin-called, and there were mass liquidations.

Upon quantifying this, only 4% of our universe of 316 coins are below their closing June-July lows.

That's 13 coins, not a whole lot.

Yesterday, we identified a number of developments in crypto and in old-school markets, suggesting it's time for buyers to step in if further damage is to be avoided.

While Bitcoin is in the process of testing support, we've seen some short-term signals of strength within the altcoins. This is a positive, but crypto assets need legacy markets to bounce here if this recent strength is to persist.

If equities can’t begin to build a bullish shape right here and now, we expect further downside. Recent US dollar strength likely needs to subside, too.

So, with our stage set, let's look at it through a more actionable lens.

What are the setups? What are we buying? What are we selling?

This market hasn't thrown us much in the way of productive data points in recent months.

"Messier for longer" has been and continues to be our prognosis for crypto right now. Last Monday, we concluded by arguing the following:

Following Bitcoin’s sell-off, this seems like a logical place for the crypto complex to bounce or at least chop for a few weeks, especially given stretched sentiment in the futures markets.

Because the probabilities of short-term longs are rather low given the macro backdrop, we’re not going to get overly cute and tactical trying to define a setup at this support.

The higher-probability outcome appears to be further chop.

In other words, it’s just more of the same.

There haven't been any significant developments that'd sway us to carry a more bullish tone.

Bitcoin and the vast majority of the asset class are still chopping about, while macro markets have been dragged down in the most recent risk-off move within the context of a strong dollar.