As the world sees enormous price increases, Bitcoin’s use case deserves more attention
The week in review
With Jason Deane
It would be very easy for me to let this week’s summary slip into an emotional geo-political rant about a growing humanitarian crisis but, as my editor will no doubt remind me, this is not the forum to do that.
Putin now has a war on two fronts. One fought with guns and bombs, and one fought with dollar bills and treasury bonds. After a week it’s fair to say that neither is going as he planned, despite his protestations.
As my friend and colleague Mati Greenspan, this is only one of several wars going on in the world right now. Not only that, pretty much every country on the planet has some history of engaging in war on some extremely shaky pretext, so Putin must have been surprised at the extent and speed with which the world rallied against him.
There is no question the Russian economy will be financially devastated by as much as Ukraine’s infrastructure will be physically devastated. In both cases, it will take years, if not decades, to rebuild. In Russia’s case, unless there is a step-change in regime, it may never reach the same level of economic strength again in our lifetimes.
Understanding what impact this will have on ordinary Russians was something I was keen to explore, so just after this invasion started I interviewed Russian citizen and businessman Max Maternitski via Zoom on what the “on the ground” impact was and what it meant for Bitcoin going forward. Put it this way, I learned a lot.
The rest of the world is already seeing enormous price increases in energy, oil, petrol, wheat, sunflower oils, some metals and a whole bunch of other commodities, but this is nothing compared to what’s coming. Inflationary pressures will be off the scale.
Bitcoin’s use case has once again been brought to the forefront and has been discussed, although not entirely accurately, on the BBC during war coverage. Not only are there concerns that Putin might use it to evade sanctions (this is not as straightforward as it seems) but it’s clear that cryptocurrency is a powerful weapon to help aid reach the people of Ukraine directly.
Even as the war rages, more territories have announced the acceptance of Bitcoin, some have gone the other way and some can’t make up their minds. Just last week I reported that the EU was looking to ban ‘proof of work’ cryptocurrencies, and this week, that idea has been abandoned.
So where is Bitcoin currently legal or illegal and what is the trend? I wondered myself so I spent some time researching and writing this article earlier this week.
Despite the madness in the world, try and have a good weekend and remember to make time for your loved ones.
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Yesterday’s Crypto AM Daily in association with Luno
In the markets
The Bitcoin economy
*Definitions and insights can be found at https://bytetree.com/insights/
Total crypto market cap
The total capitalisation of the entire cryptocurrency market at time of writing is currently $1.828 trillion, down from $1.908 trillion yesterday.
What Bitcoin did yesterday
We closed yesterday, March 32022, at a price of $42,451.79, down from $43,924.12 the day before. The daily high yesterday was $44,021.58 and the daily low was $41,914.75.
This time last year, the price of Bitcoin closed the day at $48,561.17. In 2020, it closed at $8,755.25.
Bitcoin market capitalisation
Bitcoin’s market capitalisation at time of writing was $785.2 billion. To put it into context, the market cap of gold is $12.314 trillion and Tesla is $867.41 billion.
Bitcoin volume
The total spot trading volume reported by all exchanges over the last 24 hours was $26.779 billion, down from $28.299 billion yesterday. High volumes can indicate that a significant price movement has stronger support and is more likely to be sustained.
Volatility
The price volatility of Bitcoin over the last 30 days is 65.02%.
Fear and Greed Index
Market sentiment today is 33, in Fear.
Bitcoin’s market dominance
Bitcoin’s market dominance today is 43.79. Its lowest ever recorded dominance was 37.09 on January 8 2018.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
The daily RSI is currently 52.63. Values of 70 or above indicate that an asset is becoming overbought and may be primed for a trend reversal or experience a correction in price – an RSI reading of 30 or below indicates an oversold or undervalued condition.
Convince your Nan: Soundbite of the day
“Texas should be ground zero for the Bitcoin and crypto industry worldwide.”
US senator Ted Cruz
What they said yesterday
Greener than gold…
Jack says it best…
Yodel-Ay-Hee-Hoo!
Crypto AM: Editor’s picks
Meet the hackers helping people recover lost crypto assets
The cryptocurrency fundraisers behind Ukraine’s military effort
Exclusive: Fireblocks valuation climbs to $8bn in $550m funding round
Crypto crazy couple name baby after favourite digital asset
Bitcoin hashrate touches new all time high
Peter McCormack: Transforming Bedford FC into a global Bitcoin brand
Exclusive: FTSE plots development of digital asset index in crypto push
Crypto could give London a unique post-Brexit advantage, says Hammond
Diamond claws: Crypto trading hamster dies after standout investing career
Crypto AM: Features
Crypto AM: Founders Series
Crypto AM: Industry Voices
Crypto AM: Contributors
Crypto AM: In Conversation with James Bowater
Crypto AM: Tomorrow’s Money with Gavin S Brown
Crypto AM: Mixing in the Metaverse with Dr Chris Kacher
Crypto AM: Visions of the Future, Past & Present with Alex Lightman
Crypto AM: Tiptoe through the Crypto with Monty Munford
Crypto AM: Taking a Byte out of Digital Assets with Jonny Fry
Crypto on the catwalk
Crypto AM: Events
For those of you who missed the Crypto AM DeFi & Digital Inclusion online summit 2021 – you can now watch the event in two parts via YouTube
Part One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvqNMNZTIDE
Part Two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXhX_-Tr5j0
Cautionary Notes
It’s definitely tempting to get swept up in the excitement, but please heed these words of caution: Do your own research, only invest what you can afford, and make good decisions. The indicators contained in this article will hopefully help in this. Remember though, the content of this article is for information purposes only and is not investment advice or any form of recommendation or invitation. Morning Wire, Crypto AM and Luno always advise you to obtain your own independent financial advice before investing or trading in cryptocurrency.
All information is correct as of 08:00 BST