Bitazza Crypto Weekly: Regulators Worldwide Warming Up To Crypto Adoption -

Crypto Weekly: 14 – 20 March 2022

Over the past week, regulators in multiple countries have successfully passed or are looking to pass crypto-friendly legislation. These include bills aimed at legally recognizing cryptocurrencies and the issuance of licenses authorizing the promotion and development of crypto-related businesses. Whilst there is still pushback from some legislators, the growing acceptance of crypto at a government level is an incredible sign of the progress towards mass adoption.

The Russian central bank has officially given major lender Sberbank a license that permits it to issue and exchange digital assets. Whilst initially skeptical of cryptocurrencies, the Russian government seems to have pivoted on its stance towards crypto and is embracing digital assets as a way to access new opportunities and blunt the effects of Western sanctions.

Similarly, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has effectively legalized cryptocurrency in Ukraine, signing into law a bill outlining the conditions for establishing a digital asset market in Ukraine. The Ukrainian National Commission on Securities and Stock Market will oversee and regulate the emerging digital asset market within Ukraine. The bill will permit Ukrainian banks to transact with crypto exchanges and amend existing tax laws to account for digital assets.

Meanwhile, Crypto exchanges FTX and Kuna and staking platform Everstake have partnered with Ukrainian government officials to launch a donation website for users wishing to send crypto to aid the country and its people. The fundraising platform, “Aid For Ukraine”, is now the country’s official destination for crypto donations and currently accepts fiat and nine different crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, Solana, Dogecoin, Monero, Icon, NEO N3, and USDT. The website will allegedly add support for additional cryptos soon.

The European Parliament is moving forward with the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill after amending it to remove language that would have effectively banned proof-of-work cryptocurrencies. The anti-PoW articles were rejected with a 32-24 vote; however, it remains to be seen to what extent the EU governing bodies will regulate crypto and how the final wording of the MiCa legislature will affect crypto.

Interestingly, Binance has successfully secured a license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), which will allow it to begin operations under Dubai’s ‘test-adapt-scale’ virtual asset market model as a platform for regional development. Binance will establish a blockchain technology hub at the Dubai World Trade Centre and will be permitted to begin offering limited exchange products and services to pre-qualified investors and professional financial service providers. The awarding of the Dubai VARA license comes on the heels of Binance successfully obtaining a crypto-asset service provider license from Bahrain.

Similarly, major exchange FTX has received a virtual asset license in Dubai as well, and will be establishing a regional headquarter in Dubai soon.

In contrast, US Senator Elizabeth Warren is drafting legislature that will prevent US-based crypto firms from transacting with Russian users. Ostensibly, this bill is supposed to target Russian oligarchs and prevent them from evading the effects of Western sanctions; however, many have raised concerns regarding the efficacy of such a proposal.

Finally, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that they are actively working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near future. While details are scant at the moment, Zuckerburg’s comments have led many to speculate that users will soon be able to display their NFTs on Instagram and even mint their own NFTs within the app.

Weekly Technical Analysis: 21 – 27 March 2022

Bitcoin (BTC)

This week, BTC is sending signals of an upwards drifting sideways trend and will look to target resistance at the $46,000 mark. If the market leader can successfully break through resistance, BTC will enter a proper uptrend. Keep a close watch on the support at $38,000 if prices drop. If this support level cannot remain intact this week, an upwards reversal will likely be difficult for BTC. All things considered, BTC has been consistently creating higher lows, which is a good sign of its recovery.

Ethereum (ETH)

ETH continues to trend sideways this week, bouncing between the resistance and support levels at $3,000 and $2,500. Traders wanting to play it safe are advised to wait for prices to break through the resistance level to confirm a rally before entering a position. While ETH is not in an uptrend, its success in consistently creating higher lows entering this week has given some cause for optimism for the DeFi market leader.

THORChain (RUNE)

RUNE is up by 87% from last week, with the THORChain token on a clear bull run. RUNE will look to challenge resistance at 360 Baht and has support set at the 200 Baht mark. RUNE has remained one of the consistently strongest performing tokens over the past few weeks.

Immutable X (IMX)

IMX is up by 80.4% from last week and has rallied into an uptrend. If traders can time a dip, they are advised to enter a position and make the most of IMX’s bull run. Support is set at 47.50 Baht this week. IMX will look to break through resistance at the 90 Baht level, which should occur if the current trend continues.

Trading and Investment Considerations For The Week

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is increasing federal funds rates between 0.25% to 0.5%, the first rate increase since 2018, in an effort to curb the 40-year high inflation. This interest rate increase broadly aligns with most analysts’ expectations and predictions.

The median policymaker expects the rate to be 1.9% at the end of the year, implying there will be six more rate hikes this year. The next FOMC meeting is scheduled for 3-4 May 2022 and will likely signal the start of QE tapering.

All in all, none of this is unexpected news for most traders, and the market will likely have absorbed the news from the meeting with prices moving accordingly already. As there are no negative surprises, Bitcoin prices are largely expected to continue without a major correction. That being said, traders must keep an eye on any developments coming out of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, particularly if oil prices continue to rise. If oil prices spiral out of control, this could push inflation rates even higher, further accelerating interest rate hikes.

The fact that BTC is not creating lower lows has led many to suggest that BTC prices have already factored in the potential negative fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict; however, BTC’s short-term trend is unlikely to significantly improve so long as peace talks remain unproductive and the world remains in this state of uncertainty. If the global climate continues in its present trajectory, BTC will likely continue to trend sideways for the rest of this month.

Many Altcoins have been able to outperform the market, including RUNE, IMX, AVAX, and SAND. These could be appealing tokens to keep an eye on if you’re a trader looking to make moves in an uncertain market. DeFi tokens like AAVE, C98, and CAKE have also begun to gain momentum; however, their overall trend is still downwards, so traders are advised to consider whether these tokens will continue to rally before entering a position.

*Materials on Bitazza Weekly Newsletter are intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. The views, information, or opinions expressed are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Bitazza and its employees. The information contained herein is not intended to be a source of advice or financial analysis with respect to the material presented, and the information and/or documents contained in this website do not constitute investment advice.

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