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TA Highlight

A U.S. federal survey of influential people in the industry & the Cyclical fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices may have caused the cryptocurrency market to experience short term volatility this week.

The Bitcoin ($BTC) spot price formed a clear double top pattern between February 4th and February 21st. After the 25th, BTC spot price went into an uptrend. And between February 4th and March 7th, the Bitcoin spot price formed a double top again. On the 9th, the bitcoin price had entered a sharp upward phase.

However, unexpected news hit and the bitcoin price took a nosedive on the 10th, dropping straight down to $39,000 from $41,000 level.

A quick look at the Bitcoin spot price since January 24th shows that: the Bitcoin spot price has a very clear bottom support and top pressure points. Bottom support is around $37,400, while top pressure points are around $43,500.

The Bitcoin spot price is likely to remain largely stable in this range at this stage until it suffers a strong external shock. As the date of the Fed's official announcement of a rate hike gradually approaches, bitcoin prices are still generally bear dominated.

Crypto Alerts

Andre Cronje, the "Godfather of DeFi", has quit the crypto space, leaving Fantom and yearn.finance
Fantom senior solutions architect Anton Nell tweeted that Andre Cronje and himself have decided not to continue contributing to the DeFi and the cryptocurrency space. The two were involved in the development of 25 related applications and services, with notable projects including Yearn Finance, Keep3r Network, Multichain, Chainlist, Solidly and Bribe.crv.finance handed over to the existing team.

According to Andre Cronje's LinkedIn page, he has left Fantom Foundation and Yearn Finance and currently only retains the position of keep3r.finance founder. There are also no changes in Fantom's operations, all core developers are working on the next updates, including Snapsync, Flat storage, etc., and Fantom has stated that they are continuously expanding their team of researchers and developers.

NFT transactions reach $17.6 billion in 2021, with cumulative profits of $5.4 billion
On March 10, NFT transactions reach $17.6 billion in 2021, up more than 200 times from $82 million in 2020, according to a new report released by NFT data company NonFungible.com. The report found that collectibles were the largest NFT category, with $8.47 billion in volume, due to excessive speculation in this asset class and extremely high sales of a few star collectibles such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club. Gaming NFT ranked second with $5.17 billion in volume, with Axie Infinity holding the lion's share.

According to Nonfungible.com research, more than 2.5 million crypto wallets belong to people who hold or trade NFT in 2021, up from 89,000 a year ago. the actual number of NFT buyers increases from 75,000 in 2020 to 2.3 million in 2021. The report states that investors made a total of $5.4 billion in profits from NFT sales in 2021, with more than 470 wallets making more than $1 million in profits.

Terra surpasses Solana and Ether in terms of TVL
According to StakingRewards data, LUNA staking return has reached 6.13% at the time of writing, surpassing Solana (5.85%) and Ether (4.81%) as the highest pledge return token.

Also according to Coinmarketcap data shows that Terra (LUNA) briefly touched $99.60, up more than 20% in a single day, and is currently retesting its all-time high of $103.33.

Terra's rise is attributed to the fact that more and more crypto users are staking LUNA Token, as it offers higher returns compared to Solana, ETH and Cardano (ADA).

According to DeFiLlama, Terra (LUNA) has a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $25.93 billion, second only to Ether's $114.52 billion.

Market Updates

Red Bull Files NFT and Metaverse Trademarks
Red Bull has filed NFT and Metaverse trademark applications and will launch several metaverse-related products, including cryptocurrency, apparel, beverages and sports equipment, as well as a range of financial trading services, according to information posted on social media by metaverse trademark attorney Michael Kondoudis.

According to the disclosure, Red Bull's NFT and Metaverse trademarks have been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under registration number 97293326.

Morgan Stanley CEO: Bitcoin is a speculative asset
James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, said Bitcoin is a speculative asset and it's never going to replace the reserve currency. His advice is not to invest more than 1% of your net worth.

Bain Capital Launches $560 Million Crypto Fund
Bain Capital has launched a $560 million crypto fund that will invest in about 30 companies over 2 to 3 years, according to Bloomberg.

The fund closed in November last year and has already invested $100 million in more than 10 projects. The fund invests in areas such as layer-1 blockchain networks, competitors to ethereum, and storage.

Bain Capital partner Stefan Cohen, who heads the fund, said the fund could invest in company equity, future token commitments, and tokens from the DAO treasury or secondary market.

Bain Capital may also consider launching additional cryptocurrency-focused funds as the firm see cryptocurrencies as a 10- to-20-year opportunity.

Global Headlines

Biden Signs Crypto Executive Order, Establishes National Digital Asset Policy
On March 9, the White House released a fact sheet on the signing of the Crypto Executive Order by Joe Biden, which for the first time mentions the requirement for the whole of government to assess the risks and benefits of crypto assets and technology.

The Executive Order establishes national digital asset policy on six key priorities: consumer and investor protection, financial stability, illicit financial activity, U.S. leadership in the global financial system and economic competition, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation.

The Biden crypto executive order "conspicuously" does not mention stablecoins, after both U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed concerns about the safety of stablecoins.

But John Belizaire, founder and CEO of Soluna Computing, said, "The lack of mention of stablecoins is not surprising because U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is already working on them, and besides, the digital dollar will be a competitor to stablecoins."

The U.S. Congress is reportedly tightening its grip on stablecoins, and lawmakers may introduce a stablecoin bill similar to the crypto executive order by the end of March.

Yoon Suk-Yeol Wins South Korea's Presidential Election After Promising to Deregulate Crypto Industry
Conservative candidate Yoon Suk-Yeol, a former top South Korean prosecutor who promised to deregulate the crypto industry, has won South Korea's presidential election to become the next president.

Central Bank of Russia Banning Ordinary Russians and Financial Institutions from Using Cryptocurrencies
Due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian government wants to impose an all-out crackdown on Russian cryptocurrency users.

A group of other countries have also expressed concern that Russia may use cryptocurrencies to bypass Western sanctions. However, one of the biggest proponents of banning the use of cryptocurrencies by ordinary Russians and financial institutions is actually the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) itself.

The CBR reportedly continues to stand by its proposed ban on the issuance, mining and circulation of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation, with a CBR official stating, "The Central Bank currently supports the position previously announced and published on its official website."

Previously reported in February, the Russian regulator had stated cryptocurrencies cannot be used for payments.

UAE Government Has Passed Virtual Assets Law
UAE H.H. Sheikh Mohammed tweeted that the UAE government has passed a virtual asset law and is now looking to participate in this fast-growing global industry.

The future belongs to those who design virtual assets, said the UAE sheikh. The UAE's step is a leap into the future, aiming to grow the industry and protect virtual asset investors for a better, more comprehensive future.

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Author: Byron B. & Charles F. & Peter L. (Gate.io Researchers)
* The article only represents the researcher’s views and does not constitute any investment advice.
* Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all other cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.