Another day, another country looking to adopt Bitcoin. Plus, Terra’s foundation enters BTC accumulation mode, and a tennis superstar looks to bring women into crypto.
All that and much more!
- Malaysia looks to adopt crypto.
- Market update.
- Newswatch (LFG bitcoin accumulation, Goldman Sachs, Osaka).
- Notable events (Do Kwon interview, Coinbase/Binance insider trading).
- NFT and metaverse update.
Malaysia has become the latest country to consider legalizing cryptocurrency, after announcements by at least five countries in the previous weeks, including Russia, Ukraine, Tonga and Panama.
The country’s Communication Ministry has proposed making bitcoin legal tender in a bid to help the younger generation “in the face of the possible breaking up of the US dollar hegemony.”
A press statement released by progressive political party Bangsa supports the ministry, citing that more than 600k Malaysians own bitcoin or crypto.
On the other side of the globe, bitcoin will likely be declared as legal tender in Honduras today by Honduran President Xiomara Castro.
Source: Statista
Market update
Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto markets experienced a pump near the end of the Asian market’s trading session. The rally came after Glassnode Insight’s weekly report noted that most sell-side pressures came during Asian trading hours.
The stock market held a quiet session, likely due to the Russia/Ukraine war escalation. Investors are fixating on the rising commodity prices, especially oil, which continues a strong uptrend that began in December 2020 during inflation talks and the Russian movement of troops.
Source: Trading View
The S&P 500 (SPY) and Nasdaq (QQQ) are down -0.03% and -0.40% respectively.
On a good note, the VIX (S&P Volatility), often referred to as a “stock market fear gauge,” continued a fall that began on March 10. Additionally, the stock market Fear and Greed Index currently sits at 41 (fear), a rise of +17 points over the previous week.
Source: Trading View
Source: CNN
| Protocol (Coin) | Price ($) | Gain (%) |
| Dash (DASH) | 129.95 | +13% |
| Ethereum Classic (ETC) | 43.04 | +10 |
| Algorand (ALGO) | 0.82 | +10 |
| Xido Finance (XIDO) | 34.48 | +10 |
| LooksRare (LOOKS) | 1.82 | +23% |
| Lido DAO (LDO) | 3.66 | +20% |
| Metis Token (METIS) | 161.28 | +9% |
| Moonriver (MOVR) | 63.54 | +10% |
| Biswap (BSW) | 0.89 | +147% |
| Ocean Protocol (OCEAN) | 0.62 | +10% |
| Astroport (ASTRO) | 2.14 | +14% |
| Alien Worlds (TLM) | 0.10 | +7% |
| SpookySwap (BOO) | 13.22 | +6% |
| Tomb Shares (TSHARE) | 3,339.00 | +6% |
| Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index: | 26 Fear (-4) |
| “Crypto” Google Trends: | 28 |
| “Bitcoin” Google Trends: | 29 |
Newswatch
- Terra’s Luna Foundation Guard or LFG purchases $125m of bitcoin (BTC). LFG stated they would buy $3b of bitcoin (BTC) to help secure the UST dollar peg.
- One of the world’s largest investment banks, Goldman Sachs, enters its first cash-settled options bitcoin trade through Galaxy Digital. Goldman’s Head of Crypto added, “The next big step that we are envisioning is the development of options markets.”
- The SEC delays the decision on the listing of WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust and One River, and looks to make a final decision by May 15.
Source: unfolded
- Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka joins Tom Brady, Gisele, and Stephen Curry as FTX ambassadors, and will receive an equity stake in the US-based crypto exchange. Osaka’s prime focus is to bring more women into crypto.
- FTX establishes a division in Australia. FTX will offer exchange and over-the-counter (OTC) products and services.
Notable events
- Laura Shin of Unchained to interview Terra founder, Do Kwon, on the podcast.
- Wublock releases an investigational report and study on possible insider trading concerning new listings on Binance and Coinbase.
- SushiSwap launchpad MISO goes multichain.
- Mudit Gupta joins Polygon as Chief Information Security Officer.
NFT and metaverse update
- NFT creators Yuga Labs behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and ApeCoin (APE) release a metaverse teaser.
Banter’s take
Add it to the slate, or better yet, add it to the ledger. Another country will likely adopt bitcoin as legal tender, and Malaysia looks to be swaying towards the same conclusion. Meanwhile, Terra’s LFG began its $3b bitcoin accumulation with a large purchase today, and one of the largest banks initializes its bitcoin trade book. It may be premature… but look what’s trending on Twitter today:
Thanks for reading!
Gabri
