Crypto market update
After several days of charting gains, Bitcoin was rejected at $45,000 and slipped by around $2,000 to levels of $43,000. Most alternative coins followed the lead, marked monthly highs yesterday but have retraced slightly today. Ethereum exceeded $3,000 for a moment but failed to maintain that level and has slid by around 3% to $2,900. Binance Coin, Ripple, LUNA, Solana, Cardano, Avalanche, Polkadot, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, MATIC, and CRO are also in the red from the larger-cap alts. As a result the total market cap is back under $2 trillion.
Bitcoin (BTC) is now trading at 43,316 USD down by 1.5% in 24h
Ethereum (ETH) is now for 2,897 USD down by 3.1% in 24h
PlatonCoin (PLTC) is now for 0,501 USD down by 7.0% in 24h
Total marketcap is currently at 1.989 trillion USD down by 2.0% in 24h
(all data valid at the time of publishing, from Coingecko.com)
Daily news update
Ukraine and crypto adoption: People worldwide are utilizing crypto to send aid to Ukraine in light of the current conflict. Further information suggests that the Ukrainian government has already converted most donations into fiat through the Ukrainian-founded exchange, Kuna. However, data from Chainalysis suggests that this isn’t wholly unexpected. As of July 2021, Ukraine had the 4th most significant adoption of crypto per capita.
Jeremy Powell and crypto regulations: Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could emphasize a need for cryptocurrency regulation to prevent sanctioned individuals from using cryptocurrency to evade sanctions. “[The Ukraine-Russia conflict] underscored the need for Congressional action on digital finance including cryptocurrencies,” Powell said. “We have this burgeoning industry which has many parts to it, and there isn’t in place the kind of regulatory framework that needs to be there.”
Russian stock market and sanctions: The largest bank of Russia, Sberbank, plunged 95% Wednesday in London markets as US and NATO sanctions hammer the Russian economy. The largest banks usually have the largest clients, and three of Russia’s top companies such as Gazprom, Lukoil, and Novatek all slid to similar levels resembling penny stocks. Gazprom, a powerhouse in the Russian energy industry fell to $0.02 down 97%.
China and Bitcoin transactions: On March 3, the People’s Bank of China (PBOPC), the central bank of the Peoples’ Republic of China, announced that it has successfully clamped down on cryptocurrency transactions in recent years. According to the central bank, the worldwide percentage of Bitcoin transactions that took place in China decreased from “more than 90% to 10%,” implying that the overall number of Bitcoin transactions decreased by 88.88% in the country.