Bitcoin’s playing it cool while the world overheats
The week in review
With Jason Deane
Bitcoin’s been as cool as a cucumber, trading happily within a relatively narrow range as it has done for what feels like forever, while the world seems to be getting madder by the day.
As usual, there’s too much to list, but there are a couple of items that are worth highlighting.
Just as some of the UK tabloids announced that Putin was going to invade Russia at exactly 1am on Wednesday morning (I’m not sure invading armies tend to advertise their exact attack time as a rule), the Russian leader announced he was pulling back some of his troops.
All seemed well until Biden, and other allies, called him a liar and we now seem to be locked in a stalemate and entirely unclear if troops are reversing or not.
The very next day, Ukraine completed the penultimate stage of passing its own cryptocurrency law, effectively clarifying the legal framework in which they operate and giving the nation’s legitimacy to them. It was a near unanimous vote and all it needs now is the signature of the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The timing of this is interesting, coming, as it does, off the back of Russia’s own announcement about legalising crypto last week. Also, one might assume that Ukraine may have more pressing matters right now, unless, of course, this is now seen as a national priority for trouble that may lay ahead. Bitcoin, after all, is very useful in war, something I have written about before.
But the biggest international story for me this week is the protest in Canada, or, as it has become known, “Trudeau’s ongoing advertisement for Bitcoin”. This is a very significant event for many reasons and it has actually had very little coverage on the international stage relative to the impact it may well have going forward.
For the world’s “most free democracy” the moves are simply unprecedented and, while the protests are controversial, the actions taken provide a terrifying lesson of the power of centralised money and what devastating power a CBDC may carry over anyone who steps out of line. In fact, this is so utterly scary, I ended up staying up late last night writing and publishing this article covering the whole thing in detail.
Meanwhile, here in the UK, all we have to contend with for now is a hell of a lot of wind and, for once, it’s not just coming from central government.
Stay safe and have a great weekend!
Want to learn all the basics of Bitcoin? Join my next FREE webinar on Wednesday 23rd February at 6pm, including open AMA and FREE £10 in Bitcoin for all qualifying attendees*.
*18+, UK resident, new to Luno
Would you like to help spread the adoption and education of Bitcoin in the UK and even stack some Sats while you’re doing it? Well, now you can!
The Bitcoin Pioneers community, backed by Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, was created to introduce Bitcoin to a mainstream audience in a meaningful way and now has members right across the UK.
We share tips, stories and ideas on how to encourage others to try Bitcoin for the first time. And, thanks to support from Luno, each Pioneer gets £500 of Bitcoin a month to share with beginners, helping them get started.
So, if you’re passionate about Bitcoin, why not join today? Click here to find out more!
All feedback on Crypto AM Daily in association with Luno is welcome via email to [email protected] 🙏🏻
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 $1.854 trillion, down from $1.961 trillion yesterday.
What Bitcoin did yesterday
We closed yesterday, February 17 2022, at a price of $40,538.01, down from $43,961.86 yesterday. The daily high yesterday was $44,132.97 and the daily low was $40,249.37.
This time last year, the price of Bitcoin closed the day at $51,679.80. In 2020, it closed at $10,142.00.
Bitcoin market capitalisation
Bitcoin’s market capitalisation at time of writing is $772.32 billion. To put it into context, the market cap of gold is $12.034 trillion and Tesla is $889.49 billion.
Bitcoin volume
The total spot trading volume reported by all exchanges over the last 24 hours was $26,922 billion, up from $20.235 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 66.04%.
Fear and Greed Index
Market sentiment today is 30, in fear.
Bitcoin’s market dominance
Bitcoin’s market dominance today is 42.24. Its lowest ever recorded dominance was 37.09 on January 8 2018.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
The daily RSI is currently 45.51. 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
“The Fed should hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet.”
US senator, Cynthia Lummis
What they said yesterday
Adoption 👏 isn’t 👏 slowing 👏down 👏
If freedom was money…
Education is key…
Bitcoin don’t stop for nobody!
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