News updates April 09, 2022
1. What’s Next For Bitcoin As Prices Encounter Difficulty Reclaiming $43,000?
Recently, bitcoin prices have struggled, often dipping below the $43,000 mark and then failing to post substantial gains.
Around 9:20 a.m. EDT, the world’s most popular crypto asset retreated to $42,777.20, CoinDesk data show, Saturday.
The majority of cryptocurrencies traded lower early Saturday. Global crypto market market capitalization fell nearly 3% to $1.15 trillion in the last 24 hours, while total crypto market volume was up 9.3 percent to $89.50 billion. Bitcoin was recently trading at an average price of around $43,500, roughly where it was 24 hours ago and well below the $47,000 barrier it crossed just a few days earlier, as investors continued to weigh in on the Federal Reserve’s new hawkish zeal and the ongoing twist of economic developments sparked by Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
2. South Korean Bank Shinhan Launches Nation’s First Corporate Crypto-Fiat Account
The South Korean commercial banking giant Shinhan has become the first bank in the nation to offer crypto account services to a corporate client.
3. Russia’s Central Bank Slashes Benchmark Rate, Pegs RUB to Gold — Ruble Rebounds to Pre-War Levels
Amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Russian ruble has managed to rebound despite the strict sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation. The country’s central bank has taken a few steps to protect the nation’s currency as the Bank of Russia revealed a fixed price for gold and rubles. Furthermore, after pegging the fiat currency to gold, on Friday Russia’s central bank announced a surprise interest rate cut that starts Monday.
4. ECB executive board member talks about current state of digital euro CBDC research
European Central Bank executive board member Fabio Panetta provided an overview of the central bank’s current research on a retail central bank digital currency Friday when he spoke at the IESE Business School Banking Initiative Conference on Technology and Finance. Panetta said the issuance of central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, is “likely to become a necessity,” but warned that “they should not become a source of financial disruption that could impair the transmission of monetary policy in the euro area.”
5. Number of UK crypto firms operating under FCA temporary registration status drops
The number of firms permitted to offer crypto services to U.K. residents under temporary registration status from the Financial Conduct Authority has dropped from 12 to five.
6. Bank of America Strategist Warns ‘Recession Shock’ Is Coming, Analyst Says Crypto Could Outperform Bonds
On Friday, Bank of America’s (BOFA) chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett explained in a weekly financial note to clients that the U.S. economy could head into a recession. The BOFA strategist’s note further detailed that cryptocurrencies could outperform bonds and stocks.
7. Compute North Reveals Bitcoin Miner Is Building a 300 MW Data Center in Texas
The bitcoin mining operation Compute North has announced it is in the midst of constructing a 300-megawatt (MW) data center in Granbury, Texas. According to the mining firm, the data center located near Wolf Hollow Power Plant will be scalable up to 600 MW going forward.
8. EU Blacklists Crypto Wallets In A Bid To Limit Russia’s Crypto Use
The European Union (EU) in support of Ukraine is moving to impose even greater sanctions on Russia. In a new tranche of sanctions, the body has stated that it is targeting deposits made to crypto wallets by sanctioned individuals.
9. Big Crypto Miners Are Shifting Towards Europe, Middle East; Here’s Why
Major crypto miners in North America are looking to expand into regions with more power resources and less regulatory pressure. At the Bitcoin Conference 2022 in Miami on Thursday, crypto miners such as Core Scientific, Riot Blockchain, Marathon Digital, and Argo Blockchain shared their interest in expansion to Scandinavia, the Middle East, and other lightly-regulated regions.
After China’s backlash against crypto mining last year, crypto miners flocked to countries including the U.S., Canada, and Kazakhstan. North America became the favored region for crypto miners due to suitable power sources and crypto mining policies.
10. Stablecoins Present “Bigger” Economic Threat, Says India’s Reserve Bank:
An Indian central bank governor said stablecoins presented a bigger threat to economic stability than other cryptocurrencies. He also cited a need for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to catch up with a boom in digital payments.
Speaking at a webinar, Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) deputy governor T Rabi Sankar said that stablecoins could spur dollarization at an unprecedented pace, given their 1:1 peg against the greenback. Dollarization is an incident where the dollar greatly dominates a country’s foreign exchange markets, sidelining the local currency and hurting financial stability.
The case against stablecoins:
Sankar’s comments highlight the cautious stance adopted by the RBI against crypto. The bank also appears to be shedding its wait-and-see approach in favor of more aggressive regulation against crypto.
India cracks down on crypto:
Despite widespread crypto adoption in the country, India’s government has taken a hardline stance against crypto. The country recently passed a flat 30% capital gains tax on all crypto investments to dissuade citizens from trading in the space. All crypto transactions in the country are also subject to a 1% tax.
The Indian government is liaising with several foreign bodies, including the World Bank and the IMF, to come up with clearer crypto regulation. But so far, major ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, have all spoken against the space.
Still, Indian finance officials are keen on implementing a digital rupee to improve digital payments.
