Bitcoin evangelist, Senator Lummis, reveals grand plans. Binance plants seeds in the Middle East. And how will another China lockdown affect the markets?
All that, and more:
- Senator Lummis’s bill explained.
- Market update: Inflection points, major outflows.
- Newswatch: China lockdowns.
The big story
Senator for Wyoming, Cynthia Lummis, has been in the process of drafting a bill titled “The Responsible Financial Innovation Act” for close to a year. Her staffer, Tyler Lindholm, recently did an interview with Decrypt, where he noted some essential keystones of the bill. The bill would overhaul the current taxing of capital gains in crypto-assets related to mining, staking, and spending.
A significant hurdle for spending crypto in the US is the capital gains tax. Senator Lummis aims to eliminate the tax on any crypto transfer of less than $600, an amount she believes can pass a senate vote. The change would make crypto assets a viable alternative to fiat when purchasing everyday goods or services.
She also looks to eliminate a tax for miners and stakers who aid in securing networks. Lastly, the bill aspires to permit the exiting of retirement funds, such as 401k, and the entering into crypto positions without penalty.
If the bill passes government legislation, it could have enormous ramifications for crypto-assets in the US. It would help the industry become part of a broader financial service, moving crypto from an asset class to an expansive range of uses. Keep an eye out for further information about the bill in the coming months.
Market update
Bitcoin (BTC) extended yesterday’s recovery and climbed another 2.5% after the US stock market closed. Bitcoin closed the daily candle with a 5.01% gain up to 39.6k.
Source: Trading View
Ether over bitcoin (ETH/BTC) appears to be coming to an inflection point in time for a week full of news. ETH/BTC is widely considered a bull gauge proxy in crypto markets. Depending on the outcome, significant events this week will decide if ETH/BTC breaks to the upside or down. The previous three times ETH/BTC broke to the upside, it did so aggressively, marking a period of strong positive sentiment in the crypto markets.
Source: Trading View
36.6k bitcoins (BTC) were moved off exchanges on Friday, March 11th, 2022. This marks the third-largest outflow of bitcoin from exchanges since October 2019, according to CryptoQuant. Traders typically move bitcoin off exchanges when they plan to hodl them for extended periods. The indicator also has been an early indication of strong runs in the past.
Source: CryptoQuant
Notable gainers (24h) by marketcap
| Protocol (Coin) | Price ($) | Gain |
| Xido Finance (XIDO) | 34.09 | +28 |
| THORChain (RUNE) | 7.48 | 12.5% |
| The Graph (GRT) | 0.37 | 12% |
| Kyber Network Cry. (KNC) | 2.91 | 12.4% |
| Origin Protocol (OGN) | 0.46 | +29% |
| LookRare (LOOKS) | 1.04 | 13.6% |
| Boba Network (BOBA) | 1.15 | 11.5% |
| Cartesi (CTSI) | 0.32 | 10.4% |
| Astroport (ASTRO) | 1.93 | 9.6% |
| Acala (ACA) | 1.19 | 18% |
| Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index: | 21 Extreme Fear (-2) |
| “Crypto” Google Trends: | 34 (-8) |
| “Bitcoin” Google Trends: | 36 (+4) |
Newswatch
- Just when you thought pandemic measures were coming to an end, China’s coronavirus rates have skyrocketed in the previous days. A daily count that went from 50-100 cases to now 5,000 cases a day has caused certain cities to reinstate pandemic measures. The nation has stated they have a 100% vaccine rate, but questions have arisen surrounding the validity of the claim. On a sour note, markets could feel the supply crunch if manufacturing becomes affected.
- Bitcoin wins again! After heavy backlash, the EU proposal to limit proof-of-work (PoW) has been rejected by the European Parliament. The vote count was 30-23 yesterday to remove the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCa) package provision. Advocates for crypto-assets played a significant role in swaying parliament to reject the notion.
- The crypto ecosystem giant, Binance, will provide crypto exchanges services for the citizens of oil-rich Bahrain, after it is granted a license from the national Bank of Bahrain. Bahrain has been making significant moves to carve out its digital-asset space.
- Visa looks to hire college students to attend an 18-month crypto development program that the company is building internally. The program intends to cover non-fungible tokens (NFT), decentralized finance (DeFi), central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and much more.
Banter’s take
This is an enormous week for crypto. The FOMC meeting tomorrow will be huge, but so far, so good for our favorite asset class. Senator Lummis drives crypto adoption in the US, and the EU correctly quashed a negative proposal on proof-of-work. So stay tuned for the next episode; it’s going to be a dicey week.
Thanks for reading the Crypto Brew!
Gabri
