Image Source: Pixabay

Jerome Powell’s hawkish Fed comments saw crypto and equities dip towards the end of last week, with prices largely still down since, as investors look to shed ‘riskier’ assets. 

Bitcoin is currently trading at $20,400, compared to last week when it was inching towards $22k before Friday’s decline. This downturn after Jackson Hole mirrored the equities market, with $1.25 trillion lost in US markets following comments that interest rate hikes are here to stay. At one stage on Monday BTC fell under $20,000 to trade at just over $19,500, but has recovered since.

Ether is currently hovering just under $1,600, around the same mark as last week. This follows news that on-exchange whale addresses have seen a 78% increase in holdings over the past three months, according to Santiment. The flow of crypto onto exchanges generally implies a bearish sentiment and taking of profit - implying whales expect Ethereum's price to go lower. Whether the Merge will be a “buy the rumor, sell the news” moment remains to be seen, but for now, technical analysis implies we could see a lot of blockchain action over the coming weeks.
 

Mouthwateringly good: Mars to bring Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs to life with M&Ms

Mars has teamed up with music label UMG to license the rights to Bored Ape NFT images on M&Ms. 

Owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club have been given early access to purchase the chocolate, with just 10,000 packages available, split between gift boxes and gift jars. 

However, only some owners will see their images on the sweets. Bored Ape NFT owners are able to license their images to brands as they please. This deal between Mars and UMG (via its 10:22 PM label) is one such example, and Bored Ape images have already been used for clothing, fast food restaurants, and more. 
 

Is the energy crisis impacting bitcoin mining?

With the energy crisis generating headline after headline over the last few weeks, it might not be a surprise to learn that it’s now impacting bitcoin mining. 

With BTC prices down 50%, and energy prices shooting upwards, it’s understandable that some miners are looking to cover their losses due to the sheer volume of power required to mine the asset.

As it turns out, some miners are now selling power back to the grid to offset bitcoin’s price decline, with some actually being paid to shut down operations at peak time, releasing capacity back to the grid while lowering their product cost.

As the cost of living crisis worsens and a possible bear market takes hold, this could be another potential side-effect, with production levels possibly falling below previous months as energy costs continue to bite.
 

Singapore considers potential crypto restrictions

Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) is to hold a public consultation on potential proposals to limit how retail investors in the country engage with crypto. 

While any final proposals are yet to come to the fore, any new rules would likely include customer suitability tests and possible leverage restrictions. MAS shared that it will focus on five areas of risks: ML/TF, Technology, Cyber Risk, Harm to consumers, stablecoins, and financial stability. MAS is joining a growing band of regulators looking to implement stronger guidance on crypto (especially for retail investors). While all investment carries risk, it is perhaps not surprising to see more regulators making noise as crypto, like equities, enters a bear market and price movements remain flat.

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