Weekly Bitpanda Market Recap #11 - Insights from the world of investing

News from the crypto world

The crypto market has been going through a rough patch and many cryptos have been hovering in the red for the majority of the past few weeks. Bitcoin fell to $41k last week, and Ethereum joined the downfall barely surpassing the $3,000 value. There have been exceptions to this trend, one of them being Cardano: ADA closed the week in the green and accomplished an important milestone: the planting of 1M trees. 

Tesla accepts DOGE

Dogecoin surged to $0.2, a monthly high for the memecoin after the tech giant Tesla* announced it’ll accept DOGE as payment for its merchandise. Even though Tesla CEO Elon Musk has always been open about his interest in cryptocurrencies, crypto payments have been a subject of debate for the company itself. Elon Musk announced the news on Twitter. 

Norton goes crypto

Norton Antivirus, the company well-known for its PC antivirus software, recently made some drastic headlines in the crypto sphere. It seems that, unbeknownst to the users, the latest Norton Antivirus update installed crypto mining software on users’ computers. However, Norton claims the motive wasn’t sketchy: the crypto mining software in question was part of the 360 update package and had been intended for users interested in mining cryptocurrencies safely. Users who are interested in actually using this feature are required to download Norton Crypto and to opt-in. 

News from the stock market

Recent earnings reports:

• US Bancorp (USB): January 19

Stock market performance

The stock market saw a mixed performance last week. European stocks closed in the green, with indices showing positive percentages. The Asian stock market was weaker overall and major US indices put in a fluctuating performance, with some barely closing in the green.

Hedge funds vs. SEC reform

The GameStop frenzy at the beginning of 2021 inflicted serious losses on many investors involved in shorting. The SEC had been evaluating the situation over the past few months and has proposed reforms that would put a lid on the shorting of stocks. The proposal was met by harsh criticism by hedge funds who instead support the idea of a less standardised market but who also fear the losses like they encountered last year.

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine fosters speculation on gas prices

Considering increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, some experts foresee another gas price crisis in Europe following last year’s crisis. The chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, William Jackson suggests that if Russia was sanctioned or used its gas exports as leverage, we could expect a significant surge in European gas prices. Russia is currently the supplier of approximately 35% of Europe’s gas. 

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.