A broad rise in the digital asset market, led by bitcoin nearing $45K, has pushed the total market cap for crypto back over $2 trillion. In the last week, bitcoin has jumped nearly 14%, and ether 12%.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could emphasize a need for cryptocurrency regulation to prevent sanctioned individuals from evading sanctions.
Four months after Bitcoin’s record high of $69,000, it now appears that most top-of-the-market buyers have since unloaded their coins. According to on-chain analytics provider Glassnode, more than half of the coins once bought for about $60,000 have since been resold for about $35,000 to $38,000.
Terra’s LUNA token has surged over the past week to make it the second-largest staked digital asset in terms of total value staked. Data from Staking Rewards show over $30 billion worth of LUNA is now staked directly on various protocols.
Bonds fell and equities climbed Wednesday. Financial, industrial and commodity companies led gains in the S&P 500. The Russell 2000 index of small caps rallied 2%.
Energy markets prolonged their brisk advance Wednesday. Refiners refused to buy Russian oil, taking a bite out of global energy supplies. U.S. crude settled up 7% at $110.60, gaining 21% over the past three sessions.
The rate of inflation in the eurozone once again jumped to a new high in February, presenting the ECB with a difficult choice between providing support for flagging growth and clamping down on accelerating prices alongside a threat to energy supplies.
Fed Chair Powell maintains his vision for interest rate hikes on the horizon, however regarding the Russia-Ukraine war he noted “the implications for the U.S. economy are highly uncertain, and we will be monitoring the situation closely.”