Crypto Highlights Week #11 – Ukraine call on Tether to bar access for Russians

Crypto Highlights: SoftBank dives into NFTs, Bitcoin hovers below $40k, ETH2.0 hits 10M staked ETH, SaTT integrates simplex: These and more in this weeks’ Crypto Highlights.

Top Headlines Of The Week

• As Bitcoin continues to hover below the $40k area, Traders hints at a possible repeat of the March 2020 Covid crash repeat.
• NFT adoption continues to attract large players as SoftBank’s tech division is set to launch the NFT marketplace.
• Sanctions against Russia continue to pile up as Ukraine’s minister calls on Tether to bar Russians from using its stablecoin.

Top Stories Of The Week

Ethereum’s ‘consensus layer’ contract hits 10M ETH staked

According to a quantitative study performed by prominent blockchain site Etherscan, 184,441 transactions have been responsible for 10.2 million Ether (ETH) staked into the Eth2 (consensus layer) deposit contract since its launch on November 4 last year. Based on current Ethereum values, this equates to more than $26 billion.

Mathematical analyses indicate that the milestone was reached on the evening of March 8 during block 14348729, as identified by mainstream cryptocurrency newspapers and community activists in the past few hours.

The Ethereum Foundation issued a change to the network’s terminology in late January of this year, with the first proof-of-work blockchain, or Eth1, now referred to as the execution layer and the impending proof-of-stake blockchain, or Eth2, now referred to as the consensus layer.

To participate, each user must deposit and stake 32 ETH into the official Ethereum Launchpad in order to get network validation status. At the time of writing, the figure was around $83,252.

Due to the reliance on Ethereum’s blockchain for a variety of on-chain engagements, evolution to the consensus layer is seen as a highly anticipated event across numerous provinces of the crypto landscape — from decentralized finance, or DeFi, protocols and non-fungible token, or NFT, projects and marketplaces, to ETH asset holders.

Ukraine minister calls on Tether to bar Russians from using its stablecoin

Ukraine continue to steal the spotlight in this week’s crypto highlights. In a tweet directed at Tether’s high-profile CTO, Paolo Ardoino, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation has requested the stablecoin operator to stop conducting business with Russian people.

“Today, the entire democratic world has united against Russia to punish the bloody invaders economically. I call on @tether_to @paoloardoino to stop any transactions with the Russians! For peace!”

It’s unclear how Tether will prevent Russians from using their stablecoin in practice. Tether responded to The Block by saying, “Tether maintains continual market monitoring to guarantee that there are no abnormal movements or measures that may be in violation of international restrictions.”

Since Russia’s incursion last month, Ukraine’s government has increased pressure on enterprises to stop doing business in Russia. Companies ranging from PayPal to Goldman Sachs have made efforts to leave the nation, while most crypto-related companies have been more circumspect.

Mainstream Adoption Of The Week

SoftBank’s tech division set to launch NFT marketplace

SoftBank’s internet unit, Z Holdings, is apparently planning to establish an NFT marketplace this year as part of its attempts to reach its mid-term revenue projections.

The NFT mall from Z Holdings might open as early as this spring, with the marketplace expected to draw consumers from 180 nations. According to Bloomberg, Z Holdings intends to increase the user base of its PayPay fintech subsidiary to 90 million as part of the strategy, citing an interview with co-CEO Kentaro Kawabe.

According to Kawabe, the organization cannot afford to lose out on the potential given by the developing web3 domain, which comprises industries such as crypto, decentralized finance, NFTs, and the metaverse.

Z Holdings was formed by the combination of Yahoo Japan with the prominent Asian texting service Line Corp. SoftBank stated at the time that Z Holdings will drive its technological mandate in order to compete with other significant players in the realm of new technologies.

With its NFT mall aspirations, Z Holdings may have to compete with Rakuten and Animoca Brands in the Japanese market. In February, Rakuten established an anime and music-focused NFT platform, while Animoca Brands allegedly aims to launch an NFT marketplace in Japan in the second quarter.

This Week’s Market Sentiment

Bitcoin threatens $38K as 3-day chart hints at March 2020 Covid crash repeat

TradingView data shows BTC/USD circling $39,000 following repeated tries to break the $38,000 support level. The pair had also experienced a brief surge beyond $40,000 on Friday as a result of geopolitical happenings, although this only lasted a few minutes before reverting to the old status quo.

Such “fakeouts” to higher levels, which resulted in Bitcoin turning full circle and liquidating both short and long bets, were already common for market players this month. Lower time frames, on the other hand, were beginning to show signals of a more substantial downturn.

“3 Day BTC candles are flirting with the 200 MA for the first time since the Covid meltdown,” Material Indicators, an analytics resource, told Twitter followers on the day.

“If this is a precursor to what the Weekly candle is going to do, make sure you have enough powder to take advantage of the buying opportunity that follows. That bounce can change your life.”

The 200-week moving average, which is now slightly above $20,000 and continuing rising, has served as a historical bottom zone for Bitcoin throughout its history and has never been breached. Meeting it would need a 50% loss from current spot prices and a 70% drop from all-time highs, both of which BTC/USD has already done.

For example, the Covid collapse witnessed a 60 percent drop in a matter of days before an equally powerful turnaround launched a new pricing paradigm later in the year. During the week, Bitcoin was at the mercy of stock markets, which were going down to cap 2.9 percent and 3.5 percent weekly losses for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, respectively.

Exclusive From SaTT

With Simplex, buying SaTT has never been easier!

Did you Wonder? How can we as influencers, businesses make SaTT the advertising token if it is only freely available to crypto insiders? By making it easier to buy! We incorporated Simplex into our website with this goal in mind. The results are clearer now: purchasing SaTT has never been easier!

Simplex is a payment solution that allows you to easily buy your favorite cryptocurrencies directly by credit card. Today, SaTT joins the long list of tokens supported by Simplex, allowing everyone to buy it via credit card directly from our website or Simplex website. 

To ensure the best pricing, the liquidity utilized for the purchase is the SATT/USDT pair of the Bittrex exchange, where we have been listed since November 4th.

SaTT continues to determine the course of blockchain advertising with the integration of Simplex. Year 2022 is already shaping up to be a jam-packed year for SaTT with fresh breakthroughs.

This Week’s Crypto Meme

We hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of crypto highlights. For a peek at our last edition of crypto highlights & blockchain news, click here.