FFNews from the crypto world

The week started with an extremely fearful crypto market sentiment, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index at 24/100 on Monday. Bitcoin’s price fell on Monday but managed to rise back to over €38,000 on Tuesday. Ethereum saw similar price action and after dipping on Monday is now back to around €2,800. XRP started surging on Friday and is now slightly over €0.70, Terra was in the red over the weekend but started the new week positively with LUNA now trading for €86. 

MetaMask warns Apple users

Keeping your passwords safe and sound is always important but it’s crucial when we talk about crypto wallets. MetaMask, a non-custodial Ethereum wallet, has taken matters into their own hands and urged Apple users to keep an eye open for possible phishing scams. 

MetaMask explained on Twitter that the encrypted wallet’s password would be automatically added to iCloud if the backup option is selected. This means that a potential hack on users’ iClouds could also compromise the safety of the funds kept in the MetaMask wallets. 

Crypto news from Portugal and Ireland

Portugal’s Central Bank, Banco do Portugal, has granted a “virtual asset service provider” (VASP) licence to Bison Digital Assets, a newly-created company that will work under Bison Bank. It’s the first time a bank has been granted this licence by Portuguese regulators and the fifth entity to receive the crypto licence in the country. 

Interesting crypto news comes from Ireland with the country considering banning donations to political parties in cryptocurrencies from outside the country. The ban is part of a proposed amendment to the new political and electoral integrity laws and it is meant to prevent foreign interference and meddling in Irish politics.

News from the stock market

Recent earnings reports:

• Netflix (NFLX): April 19

• Tesla (TSLA): April 20

• American Airlines (AAL): April 21

→ Find out about upcoming corporate actions on Bitpanda.

Stock market performance

After the long Easter weekend, the stock market reported mixed performances. While major European indices opened in the red, US ones saw positive numbers. The Asian stock market saw more mixed performances. 

Russia still lacks reserve substitutes after sanctions

The sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine have left the country’s foreign reserves with only yuan and gold, as Russia’s central bank admitted to not having found substitutes yet for the world’s major reserve currencies. 

Before the conflict in Ukraine, Russia had been working on reducing its dependence on the US dollar and doubled its reserves in other foreign currencies and gold - from $368 billion in 2015 to $630 billion today. However, since the money was held in foreign banks, the sanctions imposed by the European Union, the UK, the US, Japan and many other countries have cut access to almost half of these reserves.

China’s Covid-zero policy impact on economy

The economical and social effects of the Covid-zero policy adopted by China are starting to show dramatically. A Huawei executive recently stressed that China’s policy against coronavirus and the resulting tensions might cause serious losses for both the tech and automotive industry and for the global economy. The Head of Huawei’s consumer and auto division, Richard Yu Chengdong, warned about the possibility of a halt in the tech industry and particularly in the automotive sector if Shanghai, now under lockdown, doesn’t resume production by May.

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Disclaimer

This article does not constitute investment advice, nor is it an offer or invitation to purchase any digital assets.

This article is for general purposes of information only and no representation or warranty, either expressed or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of this article or opinions contained herein. *Bitpanda Stocks are contracts replicating an underlying stock or ETF. More information and the PRIIPs key information document (KID) are available at bitpanda.com.