Weekly Bitpanda Market Recap #19 - Insights from the world of investing

News from the crypto world

Bitcoin closed the week positively, with BTC hovering around €35k over the weekend. The beginning of the week was less positive as the biggest crypto began losing value and showing rollercoaster-like movements on Monday. Ethereum had a similar performance and ETH is now trading at around €2.4k. Solana hasn’t seen a positive week either: after reaching €91 at the beginning of the month, SOL plunged and is now trading at around €75. The Russia-Ukraine war has been having an effect on the financial markets, including the crypto market, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index at 24/100, marking extreme fear.

The European Parliament rejects ban on Proof of Work

MiCA, short for Markets in Crypto-Assets Directive, a proposal on a framework regulating digital assets in Europe was changed during the weekend to include a ban on cryptocurrencies using Proof of Work (like Bitcoin) for sustainability reasons. However, a committee of the European Parliament rejected the ban on Monday. The crypto community had been keeping a close eye on the vote in the past weeks.

Biden signs crypto executive order

Last week, U.S. president Joe Biden signed the executive order on crypto, an event that had been highly anticipated by the whole crypto community and beyond. The executive order is to ensure responsible innovation in cryptocurrencies while taking U.S. competitiveness and financial inclusion into careful consideration. Last week, the remarks on the executive order by the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, indicating that the President would’ve taken a constructive approach, were inadvertently published, pushing the crypto market in a bullish direction.

News from the stock market

Recent earnings reports:

• GameStop (GME): March 17

• FedEx (FDX): March 17

Stock market performance

Major European indices closed the week on a positive note, like the DAX closing with over +6% and the CAC40 with over +4%. The week also ended in the green for major U.S. stocks, though in smaller percentages. Asian stocks haven’t seen a favourable end of the week nor a good start to this one. 

Monday was the worst day for Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong, marked by widespread panic sell-offs after U.S. officials reported that Russia is asking for China’s assistance in the war in Ukraine. Even though the requests for economic and military assistance from Russia have been dismissed by Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, who defined them as misinformation, investors started selling off on Monday, fearing sanctions and international backlash against Chinese companies and firms.

Russia’s stock market remains closed amid speculation of debt default 

Last weekend, Russia’s central bank announced that the Russian stock market will stay closed for the third consecutive week - with few exceptions. The country has been heavily sanctioned after attacking Ukraine. Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, stated that a sovereign default of Russia is not an “improbable event” at this point: amid sanctions from various Western countries, $640 billion in Russia’s foreign reserves have been frozen. 

FED monetary policy sets to be revealed

The U.S. Federal Reserve is set to share its decisions about the latest monetary policy today. Some investors are expecting interest rates to rise significantly, something that hasn’t happened since 2018. A preliminary consumer sentiment index by the University of Michigan reports the lowest value in consumer sentiment since September 2011, likely related to the gas price spiking to record levels.

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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.