MAJR News: Russia invades Ukraine and markets tumble as uncertainty of all out war grows.
Russia submits proposal to regulate bitcoin and crypto trading, California and Colorado are the latest states to submit bitcoin legal tender laws, Inflation to get worse with Russia and Ukraine crisis
@starfury
MAJR NEWS BRIEF
Top Stories
BITCOINBitcoin Falls 5% Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Bitcoin, Ethereum and the total crypto market is down due to the military tensions between Russia, Ukraine and western allies. Most of the tokens saw at least a double digital decrease over the last week.
Russian Finance Ministry Submits Proposal for Bitcoin Regulations
Russian Finance Ministry submitted a proposal to regulate cryptocurrency in the country. The proposal would allow citizens to legally buy a limited amount per year (~$7k) if they passed a test on investing, and a much smaller amount if they failed the test. Exchanges need to obtain a license, register with the government and require KYC (know your customer) checks between banks and exchanges. Using crypto as a means of payment is prohibited.
Intel Unveils New Bitcoin Mining Chip and 3,600-Watt Mining Rig
Intel shared tech details for its first-generation “Bonanza Mine'' (BMZ1) blockchain accelerator chip and has already received orders, notably from Jack Dorsey’s company, Block. The 3,600-watt ASIC chips (application specific integrated circuit - meaning it’s only meant to mine bitcoin) are marketed as very energy efficient, however not as powerful as Bitmain’s 5,445-watt liquid-cooled miner doing 198 TH/s vs. Intel’s 40 TH/s. It’s rumored that Intel is already at work on their second generation mining chips.
More on Bitcoin
After Colorado, California To Allow Bitcoin Payments for Govt Services
Bitcoin in Stasis Near $37K, Gold Extends Gains as Russia Starts Ukraine Invasion
CRYPTOFTX to Roll Out Crypto Service for Games Publishers
US crypto exchange, FTX US is rolling out an FTX Gaming arm to provide white label technology services to existing gaming studios looking to enter the web3 gaming and NFT space. There are more than 2 billion avid gamers worldwide and FTX Ventures’ $2 billion fund is focused on bringing those users into web3 gaming and social applications. FTX Ventures as already partnered with Lightspeed Ventures and Solana Ventures to invest $100 million into crypto gaming projects.
Top 10 NFTs By Weekly Sales Volume: Azuki Tops List, NFT Worlds, Mfers, Edenhorde, Tasty Bones, 3Landers Join Top Ten
Azuki: $33.7 million, +47.0%
NFT Worlds: $27.1 million, +171.8%
Mfers: $23.2 million, +48.6
Edenhorde: $20.5 million, +734.5%
Crabada: $20.3 million, +13.9%
Axie Infinity: $20.0 million, -40.0%
Tasty Bones: $18.0 million, +100.3%
Bored Ape Yacht Club: $17.4 million, -35.9%
3Landers: $16.4 million, N/A
CloneX: $15.1 million, -27.7%
Vitalik Buterin Calls Canada's Use of Banks to Stifle Protestors 'Dangerous'
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau authorized rare and overreaching emergency powers using banks to freeze the accounts of individuals associated with the trucker led protest, “Freedom Convoy.” The protest is mostly working class citizens from all over the country coming together in Ottawa to protest Canada’s strict covid travel and vaccine mandates. Authorities also blacklisted specific crypto addresses that were receiving international funding for the protest. The government leveraged the banking system to censor accounts without a court order and were shielded from any civil liability allegations. Vitalik Buterin, a citizen of Canada and creator of Ethereum said the following which highlights the importance of crypto to protect citizens from this type of dangerous behavior.
"If the truckers are blocking the roads and that's breaking the economy, fine, blocking the roads is illegal and there are laws against that…If the government is not willing to follow the laws and give people a chance to defend themselves...and they just want to talk to the banks and basically cut out people's financial livelihoods without due process, that is an example of the sort of thing that decentralized technology is there to make more difficult…In this way, crypto is not so much a radical technology as a restorative one…it's not about being lawless. In some ways, it's about bringing rule of law back…Governments and police can still act lawfully and pursue suspects "as they always have" without conscripting financial middlemen…This concept of going after citizens and using intermediaries to bypass all that, it is dangerous…Having decentralized alternatives to an intermediary is a good way to limit the damage."
More on Crypto
$1.7 Million NFT Phishing Attack 'Did Not Originate' on OpenSea, Says CEO
Crypto Exchange Huobi Plans Return to U.S. Market as Asset Manager
Rising Metaverse Game Pairs Ethereum NFTs With Retro 16-Bit Look
A DAO Is Trying to Buy the NFL’s Denver Broncos for $4 Billion
MACROPutin Orders Deployment of Troops to Breakaway Regions in Ukraine
After amassing 190,000 Russian troops along the Ukraine border, President Vladimir Putin sent troops into two independent breakaway regions of Donbas, Ukraine. Putin believes that Ukraine has historically always been a part of Russia, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes otherwise, and says the invasion is a violation of the Ukraine’s sovereignty. Ukraine is a member of NATO and has been coordinating with western allies for military and financial reaction. Western allies have threaten heavy financial sanctions against Russia by removing them from the international SWIFT payment system, along with an executive order from the Biden administration to prohibit all investments, trade and financial support flowing into the Donbas regions. President Biden was poised to meet with President Putin if the Russians refrained from invading Ukraine. The meeting has since been postponed.
Global Markets Fall After Russia Orders Troops Into Ukraine
Global stock markets tumble as Russian troops enter Ukraine and the threat of all out war grows. US futures were down between 1%-2% and are expected to open lower as investors move out of risk assets and into safe havens like US treasuries. European indexes edged lower, while the Russian benchmark MOEX index tacked on another 5% drop after Monday’s 10% drop, which was the worst days of trading in 8 years. Oil prices surged 4% as the military crisis is expected to further disrupt supply chains. Investor risk aversion is expected to continue, as there’s now added pressure on the Fed to get ahold of inflation given the new supply chain and energy disruptions.
Worried About Inflation and Supply Constraints? Try Being a Small Business.
Small businesses have a harder time dealing with inflation and supply constraints than their bigger competitors. Bigger companies are able to leverage their scale, inventory capacity and have set contracts in place that make sure they get priority over other businesses. Survey results stated that 84% of small businesses have seen inflationary issues worsen since September and 12% of the businesses said that their output will never be the same. In late January, nearly 27% of small businesses tracked by Gusto, a payroll and benefits provider, had less than one month of payroll expenses in reserves, up from 21% a year earlier. The majority of those businesses were concentrated in services industries.
More on Macro
U.S. Home Sales Jumped 6.7% in January Amid Record-Low Inventory
Inflation Creeps Into Asia—‘My Salary Is the Same, but Everything Is More Expensive’
Fed Minutes Suggest Rate Increases in March, May and June; Bank of England Under Pressure
Bitcoin and crypto adoption is here to stay. Don’t let your friends and family miss the opportunity of a lifetime. For more breaking news and updates, follow us on Twitter @majr_daoWe’ve moved some content behind the pay wall. Subscribe to receive all our research and analysis.This is not financial advice. Please do your own research. Investing in bitcoin and cryptocurrency comes with risk. The information presented in this newsletter is for information and entertainment purposes only.