Russia
Bitcoin a ‘good bet’ if Fed continues easing to avoid a recession — analyst
Bitcoin (BTC) has the potential to become a “good bet” for investors if the Federal Reserve does everything it can to keep the U.S. economy afloat against impending recession risks, according to popular analyst Bitcoin Jack. The independent market analyst pitted the flagship cryptocurrency, often called “digital gold” by its enthusiasts, against the prospects of further quantitative easing by the U.S. central bank, noting that the ongoing military standoff between Ukraine and Russia had choked the supply chain of essential commodities, such as oil and wheat, resulting in higher global inflation. For instance, consumer prices in Europe jumped 5.8% year-over-year in February compared to 5.1% in the previous month, greater than the median economist forecast of 5.6% in ...
New York state ramps up blockchain monitoring to enforce sanctions
New York state’s efforts to enforce sanctions against Russia have ramped up a gear with the Department of Financial Services, or DFS, expediting the procurement of additional blockchain analytics technology. According to a statement released Wednesday, the department will use the technology to help detect exposure to Russian individuals and entities subject to federal sanctions, by the virtual currency businesses licensed by the department. NY Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order Feb. 27 directing state agencies to divest from Russian institutions and companies, as well as entities that provide them with support. She said: “New York is proudly home to the nation’s largest Ukrainian population and we will use our technological assets to protect our people and show Russia that w...
Analysts say bulls will aim for $48K now that Bitcoin’s ‘accumulation phase’ has begun
Investor sentiment across the cryptocurrency ecosystem has seen a significant shift in the positive direction over the past week, despite events in the wider world. Currently, Bitcoin (BTC) is back above $43,500 and many altcoins are also witnessing double-digit gains. Crypto Fear & Greed index. Source: Alternative The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and recent actions taken by governments to limit access to banking services may have helped to shine a light on the value of holding cryptocurrencies, which offers some protection against uncontrollable events and what some might perceive as government overreach. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of BTC has oscillated between $43,350 and $45,400 on March 2 as the world awaits some form of resolution to th...
Dogecoin community donates $53K to Ukraine as country hints at upcoming airdrop
With the price of the meme-based token Dogecoin (DOGE) higher than that of the Russian ruble, Ukraine opened to DOGE donations for the first time. Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov announced on Wednesday that the token had “exceeded Russian ruble in value” — though the ruble has dropped significantly against the U.S. dollar in the wake of U.S. and EU sanctions, its price has been lower than DOGE’s since January 2021. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the price of Dogecoin is roughly $0.13 at the time of publication, having fallen by less than 1% over the last 24 hours. However, Fedorov’s message on Twitter also called for DOGE proponents including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Dogecoin founder Billy Markus to donate to Ukraine’s militar...
NYPD Fund Divests Itself From $42M In Russian Assets…
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: ANGELA WEISS / Getty The backlash against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to grow across the globe, and now the NYPD itself has decided to send a message to Moscow by divesting itself from $42.2 million in Russian assets. The Gothamist is reporting that one of NYC’s five pensions has voted to divest itself from Russian assets as Moscow continues to use military action to invade Ukraine even as the world calls for a stop to the unprovoked war. Y’all just know that if Comrade Trump was still President he would’ve lambasted the NYPD for making such a move, but luckily for us and the world, he’s not and is currently holed up in Mar-A-Lago awaiting indictments in both New York City and Atlanta, GA (tee-hee). “The trustees of the New York City Police Pen...
Revolut’s Russian co-founder decries the ongoing war in Ukraine
Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky explained that he decided to exercise caution in his public comments and actions for the welfare of Revolut’s Russian staff His Ukrainian co-founder Vlad Yatsenko critiqued President Putin last week over the attack on Ukraine Following a period of reticence, the CEO of London-based fintech firm Revolut Nikolay Storonsky has established an anti-war standing over the ongoing invasion of Russia into Ukraine. The Russian billionaire co-founded Revolut with his Ukrainian partner Vlad Yatsenko, who serves as the CTO of the financial services company. Storonsky expressed his disappointment in the Russia-Ukraine conflict taking a war route via a personal letter published in a blog post yesterday. He averred that the war between the two countries would never be an an...
War coincides with Bitcoin’s highest ‘real’ volume since early December
The “real” daily Bitcoin (BTC) volume spiked to levels not seen for three months amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the latest weekly update report from blockchain analytics firm Arcane Research, real daily BTC trading volume surged above the $10 billion last Thursday (Feb. 24, the first day of the invasion), marking the highest daily volume recorded since Dec. 4. The firm cited “new crypto narratives” that have risen to the forefront amongst the ongoing crisis, such as crypto fundraising in Ukraine, along with demand increasing in relation to the western block and Russia introducing “the strictest capital controls in decades.” Strong selling pressure from investors looking to take risk off the table on Feb. 24 may also have contributed to the surge in daily BTC volume, as ...
Crypto markets have inadequate liquidity to sustain sanctioned Russia, TRM Labs’ executive says
TRM Lab’s Ari Redbord expects Russia to turn to crypto to skirt the economic pressure of sanctions from the West However, the executive believes that crypto markets are not liquid enough to serve Russia’s financial demands In an interview with CNBC today, Ari Redbord, the Head of Legal and Government Affairs at blockchain transparency firm TRM Labs, has suggested that even though Russia may look towards cryptocurrencies to help navigate the wild effects of sanctions from the west, they just won’t cut it. As the US and its allies attempt to close Russia out of the dollar-denominated financial system, the crypto specialist theorised that he expects Russia to ultimately turn to cryptocurrencies. “Look, crypto provides an alternative to traditional financial systems. If...
Steven Seagal Is Not Fighting in Ukraine, Despite What Joe Rogan Says
In the spirit of Post First, Ask Questions Later, Joe Rogan shared an image of a purported CNN article that showed actor Steven Seagal fighting with Russian Special Forces against Ukraine. After a couple of hours and more than a little mockery Rogan deleted the post, admitting that he’d fallen for a photoshop. The easily avoidable flub began with Rogan posting an image of an article, rather than a link to an article, which is usually a red flag on social media. Besides that, the run-on sentence in the impersonation would have been thrown out of any reputable English 101 class: “Intelligence agencies around the world have spotted American actor Steven Seagal among Russian special forces positioned around the outskirts of Gostomel airfield near Kyiv captured by Russian airborne troops,” it r...
Bitcoin closes in on $44k as crypto hype surges again
Crypto markets are recovering, with most tokens recording more than 5% in growth on the day Over the last few days, crypto has established a ‘haven’ status for both Russians and Ukraine Bitcoin marshalled altcoins across a generally positive Monday as the crypto markets recovered from the effects of Russia’s recent military action. The flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin crossed $40k for the first time since 20th February. After only recently dipping to reach $34,904 as the markets crashed last Thursday, Bitcoin is now trading $43,775, a 16.1% growth in the last 24-hours. Its 24-hr volume sits at $28.70 billion, according to data from CoinGecko. Altcoin ecosystems have also seen significant growth in the same period. Smart-contracts giant Ethereum has gained 12.6% over the la...
US Treasury Dept lists digital currencies as part of effort to sanction Russia’s government
The Treasury Department and reportedly the White House are warning U.S.-based companies and individuals not to facilitate crypto transactions sent to certain Russian nationals and banks. According to regulations from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control scheduled to go into effect on March 1, U.S. residents may not use digital currencies to benefit Russia’s government — including the country’s central bank — as an attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The guidelines equated crypto transactions to “deceptive or structured transactions or dealings” in attempting to evade sanctions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the department’s actions were aimed at “significantly limit[ing] Russia’s ability to use assets to finance its dest...
In Defiance of Russian Law, Netflix Refuses to Carry Propaganda
Netflix will ignore a Russian law, expected to go into effect March 1st, that requires media platforms to carry state propaganda channels. In a statement to Deadline, the streaming platform referenced the invasion of Ukraine, stating, “Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service.” Netflix introduced a local-language service to Russia a little more than a year ago. As an “audiovisual service” with more than 100,000 users, it falls under the jurisdiction of Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor. It would be obligated to avoid promoting “extremism,” whatever that means, while carrying Channel One, the entertainment network NTV, and a Russian Orthodox Church channel. Given Russia’s ongoing military campaign in Ukraine, it’s unclear if the media law wi...
