Use cases for crypto have been bolstered as Ukraine’s central bank shows signs of cracking down on digital money transfers, especially in the latest measures implemented that coincide with a nationwide declaration of martial law.
The total amount of cryptocurrency donations sent to Ukraine's government and NGOs since the start of its armed conflict with Russia has exceeded $17 million, including $1.86 million from one NFT collection, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
Investment bank BNY Mellon is developing a custody platform for digital assets, enabling institutional customers to gain crypto exposure for institutional customers. Customers will be able to initially store BTC and ETH, in BNY Mellon crypto wallets, which will be powered by Fireblocks technology.
Ethereum scaling protocol, zkSync, accomplished the unexpected yesterday, announcing the test network release of an Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible zero-knowledge rollup (zkEVM) years ahead of schedule. A Zero-knowledge rollup is a Layer 2 scalability solution that allows blockchains to validate transactions faster minimizing fees.
Traders are braced for further turmoil as global markets start a new week of trading amid the growing financial fallout from Russia’s assault on Ukraine and the West’s response via sanctions. The Russian ruble, which has not performed well since the beginning of the conflict, will remain in focus.
The euro opened sharply lower after the weekend as the escalation of Western sanctions on Russia threatens further turmoil on world markets Monday. Sunday, the euro was down 1.2% at $1.1139.
In less than a month, sentiment toward risk assets has shifted dramatically. Speculative equities that went straight up for years have snapped back to reality, brought down by the prospect of higher interest rates. The invasion of Ukraine has added to uncertainty, with the looming threat of a global energy crisis raising the specter of stagflation.
The Black Sea is suddenly drawing the world’s attention as a crucial passageway for commodities at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Half a dozen countries touch its shores, though it’s vital to many others beyond, for the trade of energy, steel and agricultural products.