Inflation Fears And Geopolitical Worries Spark Renewed Sell-Offs

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Cryptoasset markets hesitated toward the end of last week as inflation fears and geopolitical worries sparked renewed sell-offs. 

Bitcoin began the week trading above $41,500 and rose to a high of $45,4678 on Thursday. But thanks to renewed worries in markets over geopolitical tension between Ukraine and Russia the price has retreated to end the week ultimately flat. BTC is now trading around $42,000.

Ether meanwhile began the week below $3,000 before trading to a high of $3,237 on the eToro platform on Thursday. The price has since fallen away to now trade around $2,850.

With inflation data likely now baked in, investors will be watching for developments in Eastern Europe. The Fed is also reporting its latest monetary policy decision, with many anticipating more robust action. 

While much of the Fed’s future plans are already priced into cryptoasset markets, any indication that it could move faster and harder will have a potential downside impact on prices.

Apple payment changes could put booster rockets under crypto

Apple Pay users could soon be able to make payments across merchants using crypto.

The soon-to-launch “Tap to Pay” feature says it will contain integration for contactless payments from “Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards and other digital wallets.”

This directly opens the door to potential cryptoasset wallet payments, assuming Apple doesn’t deliberately prevent such an option.

The integration has enormous potential implications for crypto. When PayPal added crypto integrations into its infrastructure it sent the market soaring. Apple’s infrastructure is no less influential and could put booster rockets under cryptoasset prices.

Bitcoin hash rate booms again

Bitcoin’s hash rate, which measures the number of computers actively engaged in mining the cryptoasset, has reached a fresh all-time high, according to Blockchain.com data.

The cryptoasset’s hash rate has been climbing steadily since July 2021 and has faltered little despite recent falls in the price of bitcoin. The greater stability in the hash rate is a positive signal that the recent downturn is related more closely to temporary uncertainty rather than a long-term commitment from important players such as miners.

Hashrate data tends to lag the bitcoin price so we may see some softness from the current ATH, but the price of bitcoin is on track to recover ground lost in January. 

The hash rate’s position at such high levels is indicative of more participants than ever in the network, something that long-term investors will take significant confidence from.

Gucci’s Sandbox Metaverse land grab

Gucci has bought land in the Sandbox, a major move into the Metaverse which could set off a succession of virtual land grabs from other trendsetting firms.

The purchase is a big statement of intent from the luxury brand and could mark the start of a race for space in emerging Metaverse realms.

Luxury brands have to show themselves to be at the forefront of major innovations, so Gucci’s move can be compared to similar projects in the NFT space. Following this statement of intent, we may well see more luxury brands follow in Gucci’s steps in quick succession.

Gucci will host digital fashion experiences based on the ‘Gucci Vault’ in its Sandbox space. The Sandbox token (SAND), which is available on the eToro platform, has experienced a major rise in its price since 2020, but similar to the rest of the cryptoasset market, has seen major selloffs in 2022. The token reached an ATH of $8.25 in November but is currently trading under half that level around $3.85.