Crypto Morning: The Message from the US Central Bank and Bitcoin (BTC) Crash

The scenario of lower liquidity ahead takes strength from cryptocurrencies this Friday (22). Bitcoin is down 2.9% in the last 24 hours to $40,696.62, data from CoinGecko shows. Ethereum lost 2.8% to trade at $3,016.70. In Brazil, Bitcoin has dropped 2.3% after the holiday, quoted at R$ 189,299.36, according to the Bitcoin Portal Index (IPB). US stocks fell on Thursday in reaction to comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Discussing the global economy at International Monetary Fund meetings, Powell said a half-percentage-point rate hike “will be on the table” when the US central bank committee meets on May 3-4. With inflation nearly three times above the Fed’s 2% target, he said “it’s appropriate to act a little faster.” The Nasdaq index, which concentrates technology stocks, fell more than 2%. Bitcoin followed the movement and lost steam after hitting nearly $43,000 on Thursday, the highest level in 10 days, data from CoinDesk shows. “Bitcoin price continues to fluctuate in a broader range of $38,000 to $47,000,” said Tammy Da Costa, analyst at DailyFX. income Bitcoin is still the cryptocurrency with the highest market capitalization, with a share of 41%. But Ethereum enthusiasts have reason to celebrate. The second-largest cryptocurrency surpassed Bitcoin in total gains made in 2021, with $76.3 billion versus BTC’s $74.7 billion, according to a report by Chainalysis, which attributed the result to the expansion of finance protocols. (DeFi), most of which are built on the Ethereum blockchain. Major altcoins trade lower this Friday as Binance Coin (-2.4%), XRP (-2.6%), Solana (-4.3%), Terra (-1.2%), Cardano ( -3.3%), Avalanche (-2.6%), Polkadot (-5.3%) and Shiba Inu (-2.3%), according to data from CoinGecko. Dogecoin is down 2.5% in the last 24 hours, even after Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced he has $46.5 billion to fund his Twitter purchase, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other highlights venture capitalists continue to pump resources into the cryptocurrency sector, but one fact stands out: 9 out of the top 10 investors are crypto-focused, according to PitchBook data. Considering companies that raised more than $1 billion in crypto funds in the last year, Andreessen Horowitz is the only one not specializing in crypto assets, highlights Bloomberg analysis. in the medium term, the cryptocurrency market will be marked by caution, but in the long term the trend is positive, said Alessandra Manicardi, director of B2B Sales and Partnerships in the Bitcoin Market, in an interview with Época Negócios. “The cryptocurrencies that will create the new millionaires are being released every day.” expanding Coinbase Coinbase is reportedly in talks to buy Turkish cryptocurrency exchange BtcTurk, in line with its plan to expand into developing economies, according to information from MergerMarket cited by Bloomberg on Thursday (21). The deal could reach US$ 3.2 billion. The Block website contacted Coinbase and BtcTurk, but could not confirm the information. The news follows the launch of Coinbase’s non-fungible token marketplace, which enters a competitive segment six months after the plans were announced. The initiative aims to spur growth at the largest U.S. crypto exchange amid the company’s stock devaluation, Bloomberg analysis highlights. Coinbase also announced that the 0x token (ZRX), from the 0x protocol, has been chosen to operate the new platform. The token rose by 47% on Thursday (21) after the announcement. Regulation, Security and CBDCs The proposal of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX to execute all aspects of clients’ crypto derivatives trading – without the intermediation of exchanges, banks and other financial agents – worries Wall Street titans. If approved by regulators, the proposal could serve as a model and be applied to other assets, gaining a lucrative share of the traditional market, Bloomberg points out. And according to a report in the Financial Times, the CEOs of FTX and Goldman Sachs talked about possible partnerships at a meeting in the Caribbean, such as advising on funding rounds and a possible IPO of the brokerage. In Brazil, the FTX signed a contract worth R$ 15 million with Furia, the main Brazilian eSports organization, according to Estadão, which classifies the agreement as the largest sponsorship in the history of electronic sports in the country. The Russian crypto market, valued at $124 billion, was hit by new sanctions as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, said on Thursday that it will restrict services to Russians with crypto assets valued above €10,000 in response to new European Union restrictions. The US has also sanctioned Switzerland-based BitRiver, whose farms mine about half of all Russian-generated digital currencies, according to Bloomberg. And to strengthen the compliance team, Binance has hired two regulatory experts: Seth Levy, who used to work at the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), takes over as head of market surveillance. Steven McWhirter, formerly at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will be the new director of regulatory policy, according to a statement. Binance has also asked to be removed from a lawsuit filed in Texas over a romance scam involving cryptocurrencies. The company claims the allegations are unfounded and, as a foreign entity, it is not subject to the country’s federal court system, according to information on the Law360 website. And speaking of scamsBinance managed to recover $5.8 million in funds stolen by an Axie Infinity game hacker last month, according to tweet this Friday (22) from the exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao. The OCC, a regulatory agency in the US, said on Thursday that crypto bank Anchorage Digital Bank National Association had violated rules for monitoring suspicious activity and preventing money laundering, Reuters reported. Argentine deputy Martín Tetaz launched a challenge on Twitter and will offer US$ 1,000 in cryptocurrencies out of his own pocket to the person who describes the most bureaucratic situation he has gone through when seeking public services in Argentina. In India, the crypto market needs just one regulator with representatives from multiple entities, Indian Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, a smart contract blockchain, said in an interview with CoinDesk. For him, this would encourage more projects like Polygon to invest in the country. The government of the Bahamas will allow citizens to pay taxes with digital assets, according to a document outlining the country’s strategy for that market through 2026. Access to virtual assets will also be allowed through the central bank of the Bahamas’ digital currency, launched in 2020. Real estate purchase and sale transactions with cryptocurrencies in Portugal will have a clear set of instructions and procedures, according to Folha. One of the main measures to be adopted is the provision of detailed information about the origin of the resources used to acquire the digital assets. Metaverse, Games and NFTs A game developed by Brazilians makes money with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) possible: Canadian developer MoonLabs Studios, led by Sérgio Unes, has teamed up with cryptocurrency company Klever to create Devikins, an RPG game that allows character creation and rewards players with cryptocurrencies, according to Forbes. Report by DappRadar and Blockchain Game Alliance indicates that 2022 will be a benchmark year for crypto game developers. In the first quarter alone, blockchain games and metaverse-related projects raised $2.5 billion. At this rate, the segment can raise US$ 10 billion in investments by the end of the year, an increase of 150% compared to 2021. The project “The AEternals”, a collection of 10,000 non-fungible tokens focused on protecting the Amazon, seeks to go beyond decentralized finance with the possibility of a real-time connection between token owners with tropical forest plots, according to CoinDesk. Brazil stands out as one of the most mature markets in the world in the commercialization of renewable energy certificates, shows a study published by Valor and carried out by the global market intelligence company Similarweb, according to which the country is a pioneer in the development of energy tokens abroad.