News updates April 30, 2022
1. Bitcoin retreats toward $38K after Friday sparks losses for 'nearly everything' outside China. Chinese equities were the rare winners as the May holidays arrived with a whimper for most traders. Bitcoin (BTC) fell into the May holiday weekend after late trading saw crypto losses echo "basically everything."
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reversing at $38,180 on Bitstamp to circle $38,600 on April 30.
The pair had performed weakly during Friday, this nonetheless echoing the vast majority of traditional assets — with the notable exception of Chinese equities.
"Almost everything went down today besides gold, platinum, and Chinese stocks," economist Lyn Alden summarized.
With that, the S&P 500 finished Friday down 3.6% and the Nasdaq 100 down 4.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, on the other hand, gained 4% overall.
2. BTC Below $40K, ApeCoin Soars 14% Ahead of Otherside Sale.
Bitcoin failed again at overcoming $40,000 and has returned to even below $39,000. The majority of the altcoins are also in the red once more, but ApeCoin continues to defy the odds ahead of its highly-anticipated Otherside sale.
Bitcoin Struggles Below $40K
On April 25, bitcoin initiated an impressive leg up, adding nearly $3,000 in hours. Consequently, the asset spiked to almost $41,000 after its recent nosedives.
However, this price increase was short-lived as the bears pushed the cryptocurrency south again. Moreover, this decline was even more violent, and BTC found itself trading below $38,000 for the first time in over six weeks.
Bitcoin reacted well at this point and bounced off towards $40,000. It even briefly exceeded that level, but the overall bearish sentiment in the crypto market drove it south once more. As of now, BTC trades below $39,000, and its market capitalization has declined well beneath $750 billion.
3. London Subsidiary of Top German Fashion Designer Philipp Plein Becomes First To Accept Bitcoin And Ethereum Payments.
On Thursday, Mayfair Luxury fashion, a new luxury fashion store was opened on Bond Street, London, amidst pomp and pageantry. The new store is a subsidiary of the fashion store of leading German designer, Philipp Plein. More importantly, the store announced that its clientele could make their payments with cryptos as the store supports up to 20 digital currencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This would be good news for all the store’s customers, especially its celebrity customers like Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg. Plein remarked that he expects about 5% of the store’s purchases to be made with crypto, matching the percentage of crypto sales on their online store.
4. Illegal Use of Cryptocurrency Largely a Myth, Russian Lawmaker Says.
Only a small share of cryptocurrency transactions have illicit purposes and the use of digital coins in illegal activities is for the most part a myth, a high-ranking Russian lawmaker has recently stated. Andrey Lugovoy, who is one of the deputies working on new crypto regulations, also said Russia can become a global leader in crypto mining.
Russian Developers Working on Software Detecting ‘Dirty’ Cryptocurrency
The illegal use of cryptocurrencies is largely a myth, according to Andrey Lugovoy, a member of the working group on crypto regulation at the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament. “According to the largest crypto exchanges, no more than 4 to 6% of the cryptocurrency turnover is involved in illegal activities,” the lawmaker told Parlamentskaya Gazeta.
Lugovoy, who is also deputy chairman of the security and anti-corruption committee, pointed out that there are effective tools to identify wallets that are employed for illicit purposes such as those offered by blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis and Crystal. He added that Russian IT developers are also working on domestic software capable of detecting “dirty” cryptocurrency.
“According to experts, cash is used in illegal activities in the amount of 11 to 13 % of the turnover,” the deputy noted. He is convinced that the introduction of transparent crypto regulations in Russia, along with the identification of digital currency users, will make it possible for the government to combat income concealment.
5. IMF raises concerns over the Central African Republic’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender
The IMF has raised concerns over the Central African Republic's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender due to the lack of a "robust" payments system in the country.
The International Monetary Fund expressed concerns over the Central African Republic’s adoption of Bitcoin(BTC) as legal tender.
The IMF’s Africa head Abebe Aemro Selassie said for BTC to work as legal tender, the country must already have a ‘robust’ payment system in place, along with financial transparency.
Selassie added that BTC should not be seen as a ‘panacea’ capable of solving a country’s economic problems.
6. Turkey's second wave of major crypto interest: Bitfinex, Coinbase and KuCoin ramp up
Turkey is experiencing a resurgence in cryptocurrency interest as major crypto exchanges set foot in the transcontinental country. From demographics to offline marketing to currency depreciation, there is plenty of motivation for the 84 million Turkish people to sign up to the new exchanges.
Bitfinex, among the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, recently announced its plans to expand into Turkey (see tweet). Coinbase reportedly set its sights on acquiring local exchange BtcTurk, while Binance is launching its first customer service center.
7. Cuba Now Requires Crypto Firms To Obtain Central Bank License
According to a statement from the BCC on Tuesday, digital asset service providers that wish to operate in the Caribbean country have to obtain licensing from the central bank. It comes as crypto adoption continues to grow in the region. Disclosing the metrics on which the BCC would evaluate firms for licensing, the statement read:
“The Central Bank of Cuba, when considering the license request, evaluates the legality, opportunity and socioeconomic interest of the initiative, the characteristics of the project, the responsibility of the applicants, and their experience in the activity.”
The new regulation follows the recognition of cryptocurrencies by the apex bank in September last year, which meant that residents could use cryptocurrencies for transactions and investments. However, at the time, the BCC also warned about the inherent risks users faced in using the technology, including risks to the general financial stability of the country.
8. Global Investment Bank Goldman Sachs Offers Its First Bitcoin-Backed Loan
Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has reportedly offered its first-ever loan backed by cryptocurrency. The cash loan was collateralized by bitcoin owned by the borrower. A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs explained that the deal is interesting to the investment bank due to its structure and 24-hour risk management.
9. When the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) convenes for its next meeting on May 4-5, it will find itself stuck between a very large rock and a very hard place.
Some observers believe that the FOMC could raise the federal funds rate by 50 basis points in May, double the March increase, as it attempts to stamp out the highest rates of U.S. inflation in more than 40 years.
The trouble is that the Federal Reserve’s bid to cool off rising prices has gotten underway nearly a year after they first started shooting higher. As a result, the central bank may be forced to keep raising interest rates throughout the year—and perhaps into 2023—to make up for lost time.
Back to the rock and the hard place—a higher fed funds rate means higher borrowing costs throughout the U.S. economy, even as elevated inflation keeps eating into the purchasing power of the U.S. consumer. The worry is that these two forces will slow the economy to the point where it lumbers into a recession.
US Fed event eyed! A close above 17,400 could give strength to bulls: Mehul Kothari During the month of April, the benchmark index lost over 2 per cent from March 2022 close but the bigger worry is that the index lost over 1,000 points from the top of 18,115. This indicates the dominance of bears. Now, on the daily chart of Nifty50...
