Hello Folks, its been a while since we have seen the markets in green but this is a payback period to everyone who have been holding their nerves tight during the odd times of downfall. We can finally take a breather and enjoy the below marketwatch:-
As always, i am very thankful to our valued sponsors for this newsletter. Our sponsor for this week is Cardiol Therapeutics (a clinical-stage life sciences company focused on the research and clinical development of anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Bitcoin Back Above $40,000 as Crypto Market Recovers $200 Billion
After a tumultuous week, markets are now in recovery mode.
Bitcoin is currently trading above $40,000 for the first time since February 20, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The flagship cryptocurrency's price of roughly $41,000 represents a near 5% jump in the last 24 hours, and a 7% rise during the last week—a period defined by market instability amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Following Russia's invasion, which began on February 24, Bitcoin's price plummeted along with the rest of the crypto market.
Bitcoin Trading Against the Ruble Surges as Russia's Currency Crashes
Crypto exchange volumes in Russia have soared as the country faces sweeping international sanctions—while Ukraine urges blocks on Russian users.
Ruble/Bitcoin trading volume has surged to nine-month highs as the Russian currency collapsed against the dollar in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to data by blockchain analytics company Kaiko, published in Coindesk, ruble-denominated Bitcoin trades blew up by as much as $1.5 billion on Thursday.
The bulk of the activity was concentrated on Binance, confirmed Kaiko research analyst Clara Medalie in an email to the publication.
The data also reveals that Tether/Ruble trading volume rose to an eight-month high of 1.3 billion RUB on Thursday.
The ruble fell by 30% against the dollar on Monday morning, to under 1 U.S. cent, before staging a limited recovery as the Russian central bank raised its key interest rate.
$70 Million Later, Pixelmon's Founder Calls Artwork Reveal 'Horrible Mistake’
Syber, the founder, said an alpha release of the game is still planned for later this year.
After much anticipation, and a $70 million mint, the artwork reveal for Ethereum NFT gaming project Pixelmon is getting crushed on social media.
Syber, Pixelmon's founder, called the reveal “unacceptable,” but said the project’s development would continue.
When the game launches, according to the Pixelmon website, players will be able to catch other Pixelmon and collect them as NFTs in an open-world RPG.
The first collection that minted “are playable genesis collectibles” that won't be available to catch in-game. Holders of the first set of NFTs also will “gain exclusive access to an airdrop of Pixelmon land.”
Some on Twitter expressed disappointment with the artwork, saying it was comical how much had been paid for the pixelated NFTs, while others said some of the NFTs were “broken,” and accused the project of being a scam.
Blockchain-Based Storage App ArDrive Raises $17.2 Million
The app gained attention last year when activists in Hong Kong used it to circumvent heavy censorship by the Chinese government.
ArDrive, a blockchain-based permanent storage application, has raised a tidy $17.2 million in a seed round of 13 investors led by Arweave Team, Blockchain Capital, and Sino Global Capital.
ArDrive popped up on people’s radars last summer, after Hong Kong activists used the service to store content that was being suppressed by the Chinese special administrative region’s government in a sweeping crackdown on pro-democracy media.
One of Hong Kong’s most popular pro-democracy papers, Apple Daily, was forced to shut down under new “national security” laws.
but an anonymous group called dAppleDaily, led by crypto-savvy 21-year-old developer Ho, managed to save around 5,600 pieces of news from oblivion by uploading them to ArDrive.
Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey cited dAppleDaily’s feat as an example of how blockchain technology “makes it impossible for the Chinese govt. to destroy Apple Daily's work, no matter how hard it tries.”
Binance, Kraken will only freeze Russian crypto traders if they’re sanctioned
Binance is blocking crypto traders on sanctions lists but won’t widely ban Russian users, as it would supposedly go against crypto's values.
Russian users of Binance who find themselves on sanctions lists will have their accounts frozen but top crypto exchange has ruled out blanket bans on local traders.
As reported by Reuters, the Cayman Islands-registered exchange says it’s “blocking accounts of those on the sanctions list (if they have Binance accounts) and ensuring that all sanctions are met in full.”
This means Binance won’t make any changes to its policies, so it’s business as usual.
Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov had requested crypto exchanges outright freeze Russian traders on Sunday.
However, Binance says it won’t unilaterally lock accounts belonging to innocent users. Supposedly, it would go against crypto’s ethos of financial freedom for all.
Kraken joins Binance in refusing all-out Russian ban
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.