GB Market Commentary 18/02/2022
by Marcus Sotiriou
After increased tension between Russia and Ukraine yesterday, global markets tumbled, with Bitcoin dropping by almost 10%. Bitcoin closed the day below a key uptrend (as shown below) as a bearish divergence on the RSI has also played out on the daily time frame. All eyes are on the Russia-Ukraine situation for any short-term relief in the market.
NFT volume has imploded recently - down 75% from the start of the year to around $200 million. Since the mania at the start of the year hype has dropped off significantly, but we have seen this happen many times in the NFT space. Volume is still more than double the average daily volume of 2021 and the total NFT market cap has been on a consistent uptrend. It was announced this week that the New York Stock Exchange filed to launch an NFT marketplace, showing the growing interest from traditional finance institutions.
With familiar platforms like Meta (previously Facebook), Instagram, Twitter, and the New York Stock Exchange all integrating NFTs in the future, it is clear to see that the NFT market is not going anywhere.
Following on from Russia and India recently making Bitcoin legal in their country, Ukraine is the next country to do so. A law legalizing crypto in Ukraine was proposed in September, however this bill was rejected. This week, the official government portal has announced a new law – this will launch a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine. This law, which defines the clear rights and duties of all market participants, will mean that crypto will become adopted significantly more in peoples’ day to day lives, in a country that is already a big adopter of crypto technology.