First Mover Asia: Cryptos Hold Their Ground but Investors Remain Wary of Russia Invasion Plans, Inflation

Good morning. Here’s what’s happening:

Market moves: Major altcoins mostly gained ground; bitcoin dipped and past recovered aboriginal successful the U.S trading day.

Technician's take: Indicators are neutral arsenic BTC maintains gains; absorption astatine $46K.

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Bitcoin (BTC): $44,191 -0.4%

Bitcoin dipped during the archetypal fractional of Tuesday but regained astir of its mislaid crushed aboriginal successful the time to reestablish its foothold supra $44,000, astir wherever it stood a time ago. A fig of large altcoins roseate implicit the aforesaid period, though ether dropped slightly.

The crypto markets' tenacity suggest determination volition not beryllium different January-like dip soon.

"Bitcoin continues to look precise steadfast aft weathering the geopolitical tempest good earlier benefiting from the betterment successful hazard appetite connected Tuesday," wrote Craig Erlam, elder marketplace analyst, U.K. & EMEA for Oanda.

At the clip of publication, bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by marketplace capitalization, was trading astatine $44,147, down slightly. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by marketplace capitalization, was trading astatine $3,149 and was besides down flimsy implicit the past 24 hours.

Still, investors continued to look warily astatine Russia's adjacent subject moves on the Ukraine borderline and astatine the latest inflationary news. The U.S. Federal Reserve is continuing to way rising inflation, according to minutes from its January meeting, and is wide expected to rise involvement rates respective times this year. The trickle-down from rising prices is apt to impact user spending successful the months ahead.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average were astir level for the trading day, portion the S&P 500 roseate slightly.

"Risk appetite remains important, particularly that linked to ostentation and involvement rates, which could proceed to beryllium a resistance if anxiousness remains successful the broader markets," Erlam wrote.

Bitcoin Rangebound; Initial Support astatine $40K, Resistance astatine $46K

Bitcoin (BTC) was trading successful a choky scope betwixt $43,000 and $44,000 implicit the past 24 hours. Support is nearby, which could bounds pullbacks implicit the abbreviated term.

Buyers volition request to support a terms level supra $40,000 to prolong the uptrend from $36,000 that occurred connected Feb. 3. Intraday charts look overbought, however, which could stall the upside, akin to what occurred past week.

For now, the 50-day moving mean connected the four-hour illustration has flattened, indicating a intermission successful upside momentum. Resistance remains astatine $46,000, and if buyers neglect to support existent levels, a dip toward $35,000 seems likely.

8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT (12:30 a.m. UTC): Australia part-time/full-time employment (Jan.)

3 p.m. HKT/SGT (7 a.m. UTC): Speech by European Central Bank's enforcement committee subordinate Isabel Schnabel

3 p.m. HKT/SGT (7 a.m. UTC): Swiss imports/exports (Jan. MoM)

5 p.m. HKT/SGT (9 a.m. UTC): Economic bulletin

9:30 p.m. HKT/SGT (1:30 a.m. UTC): U.S. lodging starts (Jan.)

Could Ukraine Be the Crypto Capital of the World? Colorado to Accept Tax Payments successful Crypto by End of Summer

"First Mover" hosts spoke with Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine Ministry of Digital Transformation lawman curate and caput of Diia City Project, arsenic geopolitical tensions measurement connected planetary markets. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) took the hosts down the scenes astatine 2022 ETHDenver and shared the state's program to judge taxation payments successful crypto by extremity of the summer. Plus, Lennix Lai of OKX offered crypto marketplace analysis.

"The Bitcoin web does what it’s expected to bash – this overmuch is made wide by the caller fundraising effort to enactment a convoy of truckers successful Canada, who are protesting coronavirus-related restrictions. Whatever Satoshi’s concerns were for the nascent monetary web astatine the time, they are present surely resolved." (CoinDesk columnist Daniel Kuhn) ... "An penetration remains distinctly possible." (U.S. President Joe Biden) ... "The request for the about-face is partially of the Fed’s ain making. Mr. Powell responded to the [coronavirus] pandemic by doubling down connected strategies developed by his predecessors to combat prolonged precocious unemployment and precise debased inflation. When the labour marketplace healed rapidly and precocious ostentation emerged arsenic the bigger threat, helium and his colleagues were caught by surprise." (The Wall Street Journal) ...“Unfortunately there’s a quality betwixt what Russia says and what it does. And what we’re seeing is nary meaningful pullback. On the contrary, we proceed to spot forces — particularly forces that would beryllium successful the vanguard of immoderate renewed aggression against Ukraine — continuing to beryllium astatine the border, to wide astatine the border.” (U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken)