Events in Russia have dominated market sentiment. Prices pushed higher on optimism over the official recognition of crypto in the country, before dropping back down on concerns about the Ukraine conflict. Elsewhere, yet more volatility was catalyzed by hot US inflation figures coming in at 7.5%, and the seizure of $3.6 billion in hacked Bitcoin by the US Justice Department.Bitcoin rallied to a peak of almost $46K early last week, after local media reported that Russian authorities will create new legislation recognizing cryptoassets as a form of currency.
The move is a major change of direction for the Russian Central Bank, which previously proposed a blanket ban on crypto. In response to the news, some market analysts are now speculating that Russia could have even bigger future plans — such as accepting Bitcoin as payment for natural gas.
In related news, the US state of Tennessee has followed Arizona by drafting its own Bitcoin bill that would allow the state and other municipalities to invest in cryptoassets.BlackRock, which manages over $10 trillion in assets for pension schemes, endowments and sovereign wealth funds, is reported to be preparing a crypto trading service for its clients.
The news comes as big four accounting firm KPMG Canada announces the purchase of Bitcoin and Ethereum for its own corporate treasury, citing the belief that “institutional adoption of cryptoassets and blockchain technology will continue to grow and become a regular part of the asset mix.”
eToro launches MetaverseLife Smart Portfolio
eToro has launched the MetaverseLife Portfolio, which gives investors the opportunity to capitalize on what is expected to become an $800 billion market by 2024.
The portfolio offers exposure to all aspects of the metaverse — from augmented reality stocks to top metaverse tokens. Projects with allocations include community-driven virtual reality platform The Sandbox, online gaming platform Roblox, and recently rebranded social media giant Meta.As global markets battle uncertainty over conflict in Ukraine and the prospect of rising interest rates, crypto is under pressure.
On Monday, the US Federal Reserve is set to hold an unscheduled meeting to discuss interest rates. Some analysts are expecting a hike, which could suck money out of stocks by making lower-risk assets such as bonds more attractive to investors.
Whatever the outcome, crypto traders will be watching closely to see If Bitcoin will keep trading in lockstep with stocks, or if it can decouple (even on Valentine’s Day) to forge its own independent path.
