News updates February 24, 2022
1. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Altcoins Tumble Alongside Stocks as Russia Attacks Ukraine
* Bitcoin price declined 8% and traded below USD 35,000.
* Ethereum broke the USD 2,400 level, XRP is down 11%.
* Multiple altcoins are down in double digits.
The whole crypto market once again followed the stock market and tumbled on Thursday as Russia's president Vladimir Putin ordered a “special military operation” to protect the people of the Donbas separatist region in Ukraine, but said Russia will “aim for demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine,” per Bloomberg. It is estimated that Putin had massed 150,000 troops on the border. In a speech on Thursday, Putin appealed to Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and go home. He said Russia doesn’t plan to “occupy” its southern neighbor, but that Russia must “defend itself from those who took Ukraine hostage” -- the US and its allies who had crossed Russia’s “red line” with expansion of the NATO alliance, per the report.
US equity futures and stocks tumbled Thursday while bonds jumped and oil soared following the news.
Bitcoin trimmed all its gains this month and traded below USD 35,000. It is currently (04:24 UTC) down 8% and remains at a risk of more downsides below USD 35,000.
Bitcoin price
After a recovery wave above USD 38,000, bitcoin price faced sellers near the USD 39,250 level. BTC started a strong decline and broke many supports near USD 37,500. There was a move below the USD 35,000 level, increasing the risk of a move towards USD 33,500.
On the upside, the price might face resistance near the USD 36,500 level. The next key resistance is near the USD 37,500 level, above which the price might rise to USD 38,000.
Ethereum price
Ethereum price also followed a similar path and started a fresh decline below the USD 2,650. ETH even declined below the USD 2,500 support zone and is now approaching the USD 2,350 level. The next key support is near the USD 2,320 zone, below which the price might test USD 2,200.
On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the USD 2,550 level. The next key resistance is near the USD 2,650 zone, above which the price may perhaps test USD 2,720.
ADA, BNB, SOL, DOGE, and XRP price
1) Cardano (ADA)
gained bearish momentum below the USD 0.85 support zone. It even declined below the USD 0.820 support zone. The price is now struggling to stay above USD 0.80. A close below USD 0.80 might spark a sharper decline towards USD 0.75.
2) BNB
started a strong decline from well above USD 375 and dropped below USD 340. If there are additional losses, the price could decline toward the USD 332 support level.
3) Solana (SOL)
is down 12% and trading below the USD 70 level. Any more losses could trigger a sharper decline towards the USD 65 level.
4) DOGE
is gaining pace below the USD 0.122 support zone. If the bears remain in action, the price might decline towards the USD 0.112 level. Any more losses might set the pace for a move towards USD 0.105.
4) XRP price
is also down 10% and trading below the USD 0.665 support zone. If the bears remain in action, the price could even decline towards the USD 0.62 support. The next major support is near USD 0.60.
Other altcoins market today:
Many altcoins are down over 10%, including AVAX, DOT, CRO, WBTC, TRX, NEAR, UNI, ALGO, MANA, XLM, FTM, and BTCB.
Overall, bitcoin price is gaining bearish momentum and if it extends decline below USD 35,000, there is a risk of a sharper decline.
2. Crypto Sees $242M in Liquidations Within Hours Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Global markets faltered as Russia started a "special military operation" in Ukraine, causing a drastic drop in crypto markets.
Crypto markets saw over $242 million in liquidations in early Asian hours as markets reacted to Russian troops moving further into Ukraine in what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a "special military operation."
* Bitcoin-tracked futures saw $72 million in liquidations – the most among all cryptocurrencies – followed by ether futures at $70 million. Altcoin-tracked futures saw comparatively lesser liquidations than bitcoin and ether, with losses on Solana’s SOL futures reaching $6.46 million, XRP futures reaching $5.18 million, and Dogecoin’s DOGE futures reaching $6.81 million.
* Liquidations in the crypto market happen when a trader has insufficient funds to fund a margin call – or a call for extra collateral demanded by the exchange to keep the trading position funded. They’re especially common in high-risk trading due to the high volatility of assets. It occurs in both margins and futures trading.
* Thursday morning’s moves contributed to over $411 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours. Some 114,700 traders were liquidated, with the largest single liquidation order occurring on OKX, a LINK trade valued at over $3.21 million.
* Crypto exchange OKX saw the highest liquidations at $73 million, followed by Binance’s $48 million and Bybit’s $24 million.
* Over 87% of all liquidated traders were ‘long’ the market, or betting on higher prices, data from analytics tool Coinglass show.
* The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies plunged nearly 7.8% in early Asian hours
* Bitcoin dropped nearly 8%, while stock futures in Asia and Europe were down 1.5% on average.
- Russia President Vladimir Putin said in an early morning broadcast the "special military operation" in Ukraine was designed to achieve the “demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine,” as reported.
3. BNY Mellon Scales Up Crypto Ambitions—By Tracking Customers' Bitcoin
The world’s largest custodian bank is integrating Chainalysis to help with risk management.
With over $46 trillion in assets under custody, Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon is the largest holder of securities, commodities and cash in the world.
And as BNY Mellon has begun to offer those same custody services to crypto clients, it needs to track those assets. That’s where Chainalysis comes in. The firm, which traces blockchain transactions, announced today that the bank would be integrating its compliance software to help with risk management
Chainalysis’ suite of tools includes Know Your Transaction, which sifts through data to determine if withdrawals or deposits are "high risk." If, for instance, crypto funds are flowing to an address that's on an international sanctions list, it can block the transaction. Or if the funds were ill-gotten through a hack or ransomware attack, the software can freeze a deposit.
Similarly, Chainalysis' Reactor software links addresses to real-life entities, converting gibberish into information that financial institutions can use.
For the tracking firm, collaborating with BNY Mellon was an easy call. “Chainalysis has always believed that financial institutions are critical to the overall growth and success of the cryptocurrency industry,” Chainalysis co-founder and CSO Jonathan Levin said in a statement.
BNY Mellon's first foray into crypto came just over a year ago, when it announced it would begin storing and transferring Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for asset-management clients—in the same way it already holds fiat currencies and equities.
In July of last year, Grayscale Investments selected the custodian bank to run the accounting and administration of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, a product with a $4.5 billion market cap that allows traditional investors to get exposure to BTC's price without touching the actual cryptocurrency. Grayscale plans to turn the product into an exchange-traded fund that would expand its reach—allowing "shares" in Bitcoin to be traded like stocks and incorporated easily into investing portfolios. (The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to approve a Bitcoin ETF.)
Though crypto enthusiasts have an uneasy relationship with some of the services Chainalysis provides, BNY Mellon's dedication to formalizing crypto custody measures could be a boon for the growing industry.
4. Mexican senator to propose crypto law: ‘We need Bitcoin as legal tender’
Indira Kempis, a senator representing the Nuevo León state in Mexico, is working on a crypto bill based on El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law
Amid El Salvador reporting on cases of the positive impact of the country’s Bitcoin (BTC) adoption, a government official in Mexico has once again urged that the country should follow El Salvador’s example on Bitcoin.
Indira Kempis, a senator representing Nuevo León state, is confident that Bitcoin should be legal tender in Mexico because its adoption can potentially drive global financial inclusion.
The senator is now developing a cryptocurrency bill based on El Salvador’s “Bitcoin Law.” She expects to introduce the bill to the Mexican Congress this year, Kempis said in an interview with El Salvador In English publication after visiting El Salvador a few weeks ago.
“It is clear to me that financial exclusion is one of the public problems that few of us have addressed with feasible alternatives, and that this type of technology is allowing us to generate an alternative so that millions of people can be included in the financial system,” Kempis said.
The senator went on to say that Bitcoin adoption is a historic opportunity for countries around the world to address issues like inequality and achieve financial inclusion, stating:
Related: Mexico confirms plans to roll out CBDCs in 2024
The latest news comes amid the cryptocurrency industry’s growing momentum in Mexico recently, with major global crypto exchange Coinbase launching instant crypto withdrawals into Mexican pesos last week.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Mexican billionaire businessman and founder of Grupo Salinas, took to Twitter last Friday to recommend the public buy BTC and “forget about selling.” He previously advised people to buy BTC in late 2021, calling fiat money like dollars and euros “fake money made of paper lies.”
5. Blockchain Association Executive Director Dishes on Crypto Regulation Roadmap
* The lobbyist is “optimistic” about the crypto executive order expected this week
* The Blockchain Association, which educates lawmakers and regulators on crypto and blockchain technologies, hopes to further grow its lobbying forces
Blockchain Association Executive Director Kristin Smith expects a pending digital assets executive order from President Biden to set up a roadmap for federal agencies to cooperate on everything from taxation to securities regulations.
The prominent crypto lobbyist talked with Blockworks at ETHDenver to give her take on regulatory expectations this year. Founded in 2018, the association focuses on public policy crypto initiatives, including outreach to lawmakers.
Smith, a former Senate and House of Representatives staffer, is also an independent director at Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital and on the Filecoin Foundation’s board.
The executive order — which reportedly will include a strategy for assessing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) — could come this week, according to Yahoo Finance. What else it covers is up for debate.
“I’m sure there will be some mention of illicit finance,” Smith said. “But I think that might be balanced with a more positive message that this is an important area and an important step forward in the evolution of networks.”
Former presidential and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang said at ETHDenver he’s optimistic about the upcoming executive order. Yang announced last week a DAO to fund pro-Web3 lobbying.
“No one knows exactly what the approaches are going to be, what the regime is going to be, what the rules are going to be, even who the regulators are necessarily going to be,” Yang said. “If you get clarity on those things…you can imagine the future of this just multiplying over and over again, because people will know what the rules of the road are.”
Check out more excerpts from Blockworks’ Ben Strack’s conversation with Smith below.
6. Crypto Regulations in Panama Take a New Turn as a Working Committee Meets.
Members of Panama’s Commerce and Economic Affairs Commission and part of the country’s National Assembly discussed crypto regulation on Tuesday. That committee was tasked to determine whether they should merge the two bills into one.
The bills in questions 696 and 697 were to undergo the committee’s lens before heading to the National Assembly for more comprehensive discussions. The committee had reported earlier on October 2021 that a subcommittee would be formed to examine the unification of the bills.
The National Assembly also posted tweets on the developments regarding the two bills. It said that they were introduced in the Economics Affairs Commission. The bills would help bolster the fintech industry to put Panama at the front of the digital economy. However, they didn’t offer more information regarding their discussions.
7. Trudeau revokes emergencies act powers but the case for crypto grows
The Canadian PM has also begun to unfreeze many of the bank accounts of protestors and donors to the Freedom Convoy who are turning to Bitcoin to protect them from future interference.
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has announced he will repeal emergency powers used to freeze $8 million from 210 bank accounts connected to Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’ protestors, according to CBC news.
On Feb. 24, Trudeau stated in a televised press conference that “we’re ready to confirm that the situation is no longer an emergency” and said that his special powers granted by the Emergencies Act would end. He added: “We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are now sufficient to keep people safe.”
