The U.S. stock market approaches a crucial turning point as uncertainty over inflation rises after hotter-than-expected economic data released in February. Despite mounting investor worries, the economy is showing signs of resilience that could protect against a significant downside move. The escalating risk-off sentiment in the market is also creating volatility for Bitcoin (BTC). The leading crypto asset, which has had a strong correlation with the U.S. stock market, moved oppositely to the stock market in February. The correction between BTC and Nasdaq turned negative for the first time in two years. However, with the crypto bulls pausing at the …

For much of 2022, the crypto market focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve's actions. The central bank created a bearish environment for risk-on assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies by increasing the interest rates on borrowing. Toward the end of 2022, positive economic data, healthy employment numbers and a decreasing inflation rate provided hope that a much-awaited slowdown in the rate of interest rate hikes would occur. Currently, the market expects the rate hikes to reduce from 50 basis points (bps) to 25 bps before the complete end of the hike regime by mid-2023. From the perspective of the Fed's goal …

Across all tradeable markets and currencies, U.S. Treasuries — government bonds — have significant influence. In finance, any risk measurement is relative, meaning, if one insures a house, the maximum liability is set in some form of money. Similarly, if a loan is taken from a bank, the creditor has to calculate the odds of the money not being returned and the risk of the amount being devalued by inflation. In a worst-case scenario, let’s imagine what would happen to the costs associated with issuing debt if the U.S. government temporarily suspended payments to specific regions or countries. Currently, there …

Natalie Brunell, the host of Coin Stories podcast, thinks that the recent incidents involving Terra (LUNA, now rebranded LUNC) and Celsius (CELH) and the following market sell-off will lead to regulatory action that will likely favor Bitcoin (BTC) over the rest of cryptocurrency. “I'm going to be watching for regulation developments, just signifying that Bitcoin is a digital property and that maybe there's more fair accounting that can be done to allow institutions to invest," she said in her latest interview with Cointelegraph. "And the other cryptocurrencies, I think will be deemed securities,” she continued. Brunell defines herself as a …

El Salvador’s Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya has said the country will further delay launching its anticipated billion-dollar Bitcoin (BTC) bond, citing price volatility and uncertain market conditions resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukrainian war. The news comes at the same time that Amnesty International accused the Salvadoran authorities of “flagrant violations of human rights and criminalizing people living in poverty.” In a Wednesday interview on the local “Frente a Frente” (Face-to-Face) news program, Zelaya was asked if the situation with the $1 billion Bitcoin bond issuance from a “few months ago” had changed. “No, not yet, the [Bitcoin] price continues to …

Bitcoin (BTC) hodlers, a class of crypto investors that hold onto their bitcoin tokens for at least 155 days, have been dumping them lately. The price recovery witnessed in the Bitcoin market across the last two weeks coincided with a rise in hodlers and speculative investors selling their coins, according to data provided by researcher Willy Woo. Nonetheless, BTC's price ability to withstand the selling pressure meant there was buying pressure coming from elsewhere. As Cointelegraph reported earlier this week, so-called Bitcoin whales are accumulating BTC at current price levels. "This selling is contrasted by exchange data showing sophisticated passive …

Amid the United States President Joe Biden signing legislation to raise the government’s debt limit to $28.9 trillion, Senator Cynthia Lummis said that Bitcoin (BTC) is a blessing of God. Senator Lummis gave a speech to the Senate on Thursday, providing her perspective on how digital currencies like Bitcoin could potentially help countries like the U.S. address the looming crisis when the state runs out of cash. Lummis said that one of the reasons she had become so interested in non-fiat digital currencies like Bitcoin is because they are not issued by the government and thus aren’t beholden to the …

The United States federal government’s default on its debt has been averted — at least for now. On Oct. 7, the Senate voted to increase the debt limit by $480 billion, a sum needed for the world’s biggest borrower to keep paying off its obligations until early December. The deal secured a temporary resolution for a weeks-long partisan standoff that had investors both within and far beyond the U.S. unsettled. The once unimaginable prospect of a U.S. default seemed more conceivable than ever before. As the system-wide uncertainty peaked ahead of the vote, the cryptocurrency market has been doing just …

Written by Colin Kwan, COO of Magnr/BTC.sx. Colin has over 10 years experience in investment banking, including senior management roles at UBS and Deutsche Bank. Colin also holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management. Setting the Scene At the time of writing, the Greece debt crisis appears to have been averted, or at the least delayed. A €50 billion bailout package has been offered, if the Greek parliament agrees to implement extensive reforms that have been demanded by the eurozone. Although the risk of a Grexit has been reduced, it has not been eliminated. If the parliament …