New updates February 28, 2022

1. $15 Billion Worth of Crypto Moved on Exchanges Amid Cryptocurrency Market Sell-Off. 

A total of $15 billion worth of different cryptocurrencies was moved to cryptocurrency exchanges amid the massive market sell-off that led to an average 13% drop of the whole cryptocurrency market, Glassnode reports.

According to data provided, during the last week, exchanges have faced approximately $15 billion in inflows of currencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin and USDT. The volume of smaller altcoins moved to exchanges remains undisclosed. Also, it is not clear which exchanges are included in the provided data.

During the last week, the total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market dropped to $1.7 trillion, resulting in an approximately $300 billion drop.

2. Major Crypto Exchanges Respond To Ukraine’s Call To Ban Crypto For Russians. Ukraine on Sunday requested major crypto exchanges to block addresses linked to Russia and Belarus, amid growing speculation that Moscow could use the platform to subvert recent economic sanctions. But the request was criticized by the crypto community. Fedorov’s comments come amid increasing concerns that Russia could use crypto to fund international trade, after being blocked from most international platforms. The country is one of the largest crypto holders in the world, representing about 12% of overall market capitalization.

3. Ukraine crypto donations top $36M amid Russian invasion

Cryptocurrency donations to Ukraine through government and private channels have topped US$36 million as contributions continue to mount throughout the Russian invasion. 

* The Ukrainian government has received 113 BTC and 2,001 ETH, totaling almost US$10 million, as of press time.

* Binance has pledged US$10 million to the Ukrainian Humanitarian Effort while launching a crypto-first crowdfunding effort that has received at least 155 BTC (US$6 million) in donations.

* An NGO Come Back Alive raising funds for the Ukrainian military has received 181 BTC (US$7 million), though its Patreon account for fiat donations shut down for violating the platform’s policy over military fundraising.

* Almost 2,000 people have made a joint bid worth 1279 ETH (US$3.3 million) on an NFT of the Ukrainian flag auctioned by UkraineDAO, an organization established in part by a member of famed Russian feminist rock band, Pussy Riot.

* Crypto’s role in the invasion has been evolving as donations flood in, including being offered as rewards for surrendering Russian soldiers.

• Social media users have identified scammers exploiting the crisis to solicit donations to personal wallet addresses.

4. Ruble-Denominated Bitcoin Volumes Surges to 9-Month High

Ruble-denominated crypto trading volumes rise as the West's punitive sanctions on Russia trigger a flight away from Russia's fiat currency.

Trading volumes between the Russian ruble and bitcoin increased to 9-month highs as the country's fiat currency plunged to record lows due to the fallout from Ukraine invasion.

Data tracked by Kaiko, a Paris-based cryptocurrency research provider, shows that ruble (RUB)-denominated bitcoin volume surged to nearly 1.5 billion RUB on Thursday, hitting the highest since May.

The activity was concentrated on Binance," Kaiko's research analyst Clara Medalie told CoinDesk in an email. "Bitcoin-Ukrainian hryvnia volume has also spiked, but not as high as October levels. BTC-UAH only trades on 2 exchanges – Binance and LocalBitcoin."

Similar trends were observed in tether-ruble and tether-hryvnia trading volumes, Medalie added. Tether (USDT), the world's largest stablecoin by market value, offers the unique feature of price stability in the often volatile world of cryptocurrencies by maintaining a 1:1 peg with the U.S. dollar.

Kaiko data show USDT/RUB trading volume also rose to an eight-month high of 1.3 billion RUB on Thursday.

The spike in the ruble-based crypto trading volume came as investors scrambled to move out of the ruble, fearing stricter sanctions from the West.

The Russian currency plunged over 8% to 90 per U.S. dollar last week and extended the slide by another 28% early today, reaching a record low of 118 per dollar, according to Bloomberg data. Gold, U.S. treasuries, the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc have been the beneficiaries of the flight to safety.

Over the weekend, the U.S. and its allies stepped up punitive measures against Russia, intending to stop its banks from accessing the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the messaging network underpinning global financial transactions. The European Union banned all transactions with the Russian central bank in a bid to prevent it from selling overseas assets to support its banks.

Early Monday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's nuclear deterrence force to be on high alert. Per the latest reports, the Russian central bank has asked brokers to ban non-resident investors from selling securities.

5. Bitcoin and Ethereum Slip on Russian Nuclear Show Off, FIL, AR, and UNI Rally

* Bitcoin price dropped below the USD 38,000 level.

*Ethereum tested USD 2,600, XRP is below USD 0.75.

* FIL, AR, and UNI are up around 10%.

Bitcoin price gained pace for a move above the 38,500 resistance zone. BTC attempted an upside break above USD 39,500 and USD 40,000 but corrected lower as Russia’s president Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday in the face of a barrage of Western reprisals for his war on Ukraine. 

BTC is currently (04:30 UTC) down 2% and is trading near USD 37,900 and it might remain well bid above the USD 37,200 support zone.

Similarly, most major altcoins are correcting gains. ETH spiked above USD 2,700 and is currently consolidating near USD 2,600, having dropped almost 4% in a day. XRP is stable above USD 0.70 and facing resistance near USD 0.75. ADA is showing positive signs above USD 0.865.

1) Bitcoin price

After a strong upward move, bitcoin price faced sellers near USD 39,500 and USD 40,000 levels. It started a downside correction and traded below USD 38,500. It is now holding gains above the USD 37,500 support zone. The next key support is near the USD 37,200 level, below which the price may perhaps decline to USD 36,500.

On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the USD 38,500 level. The main weekly resistance is near the USD 40,000 level, above which the price might gain bullish momentum. 

2) Ethereum price:

Ethereum price also gained pace for a move above the USD 2,750 resistance. ETH spiked above USD 2,800, but there was no move towards USD 3,000. The price is now consolidating near the USD 2,600 level. The next key support is near the USD 2,550 zone, below which the price might test USD 2,420.

On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the USD 2,650 level. The next key resistance is near the USD 2,750 zone, above which the price may perhaps test USD 2,880. 

3) ADA, BNB, SOL, DOGE, and XRP price:

1) Cardano (ADA) 
spiked above the USD 0.90 resistance level. However, it failed to continue higher above USD 0.92. It is now consolidating gains and might make another attempt to clear the USD 0.92 resistance zone.

2) BNB
 is facing a strong resistance near the USD 380 level. It is now stuck near the USD 360 level. The main breakdown support is near USD 350, where the bulls might continue to take a stand.

3) Solana (SOL) 
is consolidating near the USD 85 support level. If there is a fresh decline, the price might test USD 78 or even USD 75. On the upside, the USD 92 level is a major hurdle, above which the bulls might aim a move above the USD 100 level.

4) DOGE
 is stuck below the USD 0.132 and USD 0.135 resistance levels. A clear move above the USD 0.135 level might start a stronger upward move in the coming sessions.

5) XRP price 
struggled to clear the USD 0.75 resistance zone. It is now consolidating near USD 0.72. The main support is near USD 0.70, below which the price might test USD 0.668.

Other altcoins market today
A few altcoins are up over 5%, including UNI, FIL, FLOW, AR, CELO, and RVN. Out of these, UNI rallied 10% and traded above the USD 9.70 level, while FIL cleared the USD 20 level, and AR neared USD 30.

Overall, bitcoin price is consolidating below the USD 38,500 and USD 38,800 resistance levels. If BTC clears USD 38,800, it could rise towards the USD 40,000 hurdle.

6. Crypto’s Transparency Problem:

Digital currency was believed to be an ideal medium of exchange that offered anonymity and privacy of users’ transactions. As a matter of fact, it is a misconception that people have both new investors and high rollers. 

Ironically, transparency was coded by Satoshi Nakamoto directly into blockchains that gave everyone the ability to view transactions and more. 

Currently, the number of surveillance tools on the Blockchain network is growing exponentially, and the software is developed using artificial intelligence that runs through blockchain and gathers information about a crypto-wallet as well as coin movements, and at the same time, produces intricate reports on transactions. How much money is moved, what is moved and where it is moved offer just a peripheral view. Once a user is linked to a crypto wallet and transaction history, all associated cryptocurrency activities are known. 

This kind of software development acts as a source through which regulatory authorities can, as well as have tracked funds from crypto exchanges, investors’ wallets, and hacks. However, similar to all technologies, the potential and value for exploitation of any Blockchain entirely depends on the entity and the end purpose for using it. 

Originally, transparency was believed to be an advantage once it was coded into the blockchain network by Satoshi Nakamoto and other developers carried on with it while producing fresh decentralized crypto projects and other Altcoins as well. 

However, it is becoming increasingly evident that crypto has a problem with transparency. And this transparency problem can result in a different future of the decentralized system. 

1) Uncertainty in the Crypto Technology Leads to Regulatory Fear:

Any topic related to cryptocurrency brings predictable changes in political attitudes across the world. On the one hand, there is India, China, and now Russia that are potentially trying to bear down with crypto bans. On the other hand, there are direct adopters such as El Salvador, setting examples of crypto adoption by consistently legalizing and buying Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies. 

All the remaining countries essentially stand at the center while many other crypto- agnostic, crypto-curious, well-meaning government bodies are showing a slight interest in the regulation of this growing industry. 

There is a notable movement that has been formed in order to over-regulate the crypto space, uncertain about how to move forward. Whether it is because of excessive caution or just a lack of comprehension about how crypto works, certain regulatory authorities have been trying to push for aggressive data collection, crypto regulation, and much more. 

2) Transparency Exposes Everyone:

The corporate entities and the governments are not the only bodies who are trying to peer deep into the Blockchain system, searching for information and using the data for their purposes. By the end of 2021, more than $7.7 billion were either lost or stolen in cryptocurrency scams, as stated by Chainanalysis’ report from blockchain analytics. This number is a substantial increase of over 80%, compared to 2020. 

The transparency of blockchain provides an additional avenue for thieves, con artists, and scammers to exploit. In addition to this, as they learn to become more creative and sophisticated in their criminal attacks, the transparency problem of the blockchain network will become more apparent as the rate of exploitation increases. 

Corporations and the tech giants are also looking forward to extracting and exploiting this information to their advantage. There is a common proverb of the modern world– data is the new oil – which helps in explaining why big companies like Facebook, Amazon, or Google are making billions using their algorithms. 

3) The Unfortunate Effect:

The unfortunate and inevitable effect of the crypto transparency problem is that a majority of protocols and dApps in the industry have neglected this Blockchain problem, thereby exposing tons and tons of user information, leading to present or future adverse consequences. It is worth mentioning that simply because nothing has occurred yet, does not rule out the fact that the data will never be extrapolated in the future. One of the basic features of blockchain technology is that it is immutable. The records or transaction history of any kind never disappear. 

As long as data exploitation is limited to scams and hacks of a few billion dollars, the impact is still limited, but as democracies and dictators start pursuing their interest of regulating and controlling the population, this problem of exploitation of financial data will undoubtedly be at the top list of their personal agendas. To combat this and balance out the flaw in the technology, PriFi or Private Finance comes to the rescue.

5) PriFi, Prerequisite for Financial Freedom:

Everyone is entitled to privacy as a human right. And this is something that is literally talked about in the human rights code, followed by more than 140 countries. PriFi or Private Finance is a forerunner of many essential human rights mentioned in the code.

7. South Korea places $185M bet on the metaverse:

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced Sunday a KRW 223.7 billion (US$185 million) investment to build the nation’s metaverse ecosystem

* The ministry will use its war chest to develop the decentralized creator economy, nurture talents, and support firms developing VR/AR devices. 

* A pan-government council is in the works to tackle issues in the virtual space, such as personal information and intellectual property protection, and supervision of illegal acts. 

* South Korea’s metaverse ecosystem is flourishing, while the emerging sector has become a new channel for sexual harassment of women and minors. 

* In January, the science ministry announced a five-year strategy to become a top-five global metaverse leader, as local conglomerates, celebrities and investments continue flooding into the sector