News updates March 5, 2022

1. Traders Lose $221 Million in Liquidations as Bitcoin, Altcoins Drop

Total market capitalization has shrunk by $65 billion over the last day

According to recent data from Coinglass, 60,062 traders were hit with liquidations as the entire crypto market dipped. The cryptocurrency market tumbled under selling pressure after failing to sustain its bullish momentum. The total market capitalization has shrunk by $65 billion over the last day, slipping below $1.8 trillion.

Over $221 million was liquidated in the last 24 hours, with roughly $20 million occurring in the last four hours; nearly $93.12 million of it was tied to Bitcoin trading positions.

2. G7 Countries, EU Taking Measures to Prevent Crypto Use to Evade Sanctions

G7 countries and the European Union are examining ways to stop the use of cryptocurrency by Russia to evade sanctions. “We should take measures to prevent listed persons and institutions from switching to unregulated crypto assets,” said Germany’s minister of finance.

The Group of Seven (G7) nations are reportedly examining ways to stop individuals and companies from using cryptocurrencies to circumvent Western sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The G7 countries comprise Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the U.S.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 countries held virtual meetings this week together with Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.

3. Spanish Telecom To Enter Crypto & Metaverse With Its Cryptocurrency

Earlier this month, Telefónica announced that they are analyzing and planning on venturing into crypto. The telecom company intends on beginning with allowing users to pay in cryptocurrencies.

Using this service as a launch base, the company provides various Metaverse and web3 services.

4. Big Four’ South Korean Crypto Exchanges Say They’ve Blocked Russian Users

All four major South Korean crypto exchanges say they will block users with Russian IP addresses “in line with sanctions” – despite the fact that their overseas counterparts have ruled out making such a move without direct instruction from governments.

Asia Kyungjae reported that Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit have all apparently followed the lead of Gopax, a smaller exchange that earlier this week announced that it would no longer allow users with Russian IP addresses to use its platform.

The likes of Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken have all ruled out making such a move of their own accord, claiming it would represent an “ethical” violation. They have also stated that they will abide by existing sanctions that block flagged individuals from using financial resources. However, they have all stated that they will abide by sanctions that would require them to block Russia-based users if legally required to do so.

5. Decentralization Debate Heats Up Again as MetaMask, OpenSea Block Users

The crypto community has once again been thrown into a debate about the urgent need for more decentralization after both the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea and Ethereum (ETH) wallet MetaMask recently blocked users based on their geographic location.

The issue that started the discussions this time was that Infura, the US-based blockchain infrastructure provider that MetaMask relies on as a default option for users, without warning blocked users from Venezuela from using the browser-based wallet.

The explanation by Infura about what happened was straightforward enough. According to a tweet from the firm, some configurations were changed as a result of new sanctions being imposed by the US and other countries, claiming that they “mistakenly configured the settings more broadly than they needed to be.”

6. Billionaire on Why Some Countries May Soon Decide to Use Bitcoin ($BTC) as a Reserve Asset

Billionaire investor Bill Miller, founder and chairman of investment firm Miller Value Partners, has suggested that the current collapse of Russia’s fiat currency, the ruble, is “very bullish for bitcoin” as the flagship cryptocurrency’s value is determined by global supply and demand and could see other countries decide to use it as a reserve asset.

Speaking to CNBC Miller, who serves as the portfolio manager for Miller Value Partners’ mutual funds “Opportunity Equity” and “Income Strategy,” noted that Russia right now has 16% of its $640 billion of reserves in U.S. dollars and 32% in euros, meaning almost 50% of their reserves “are controlled by people who want to do them harm.”

7. After XRP, NFT Creators Come Under SEC’s Scrutiny

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is probing into whether various Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) should be considered securities under existing securities laws and regulated according to a report by Bloomberg.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the agency’s attorneys have sent subpoenas to various NFT creators and NFT marketplaces in a bid to dig deeper into the workings of the industry.