Image Source: Pixabay

Inflation fears once more caused jitters in the crypto market last week, with a sharp sell-off following the previous week’s surge.

Bitcoin has lost momentum and dipped to $21,400, down on last week’s rally price of $24,000. It was hit particularly hard by inflation fears, with German figures higher than expected, coupled with the Fed minutes outlining that rate hikes are nowhere near finished. It also suffered the double-whammy effect of liquidations on long positions on the futures market, as it looked to recreate the previous week’s gains. 

Ethereum also saw double-digit declines and is currently trading just under $1,600, down on last week’s position of nearly $1,900. In a very different position to just a week ago, when it was buoyed along with many major cryptoassets by news of The Merge, it saw its gains eroded as crypto’s correlation with equities saw prices respond more sensitively to macro pressures.

While last week’s pullback will no doubt be of frustration to investors, there is plenty of activity happening in the cryptosphere, especially with The Merge now under a month away. We may therefore see an interesting dichotomy between excitement about the network changes impacting price, versus macro headwinds causing restraint.
 

Alphabet shows its support for crypto projects

A new report from Blockdata has revealed that Alphabet invested more in crypto and blockchain companies than any other listed company between September 2021 and June this year.

It reportedly spent $1.5 billion on four projects, as it looked to get ahead of competitors. It beat the likes of BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and Samsung, which between them invested around $3 billion across projects. 

The Blockdata report found that from the 40 public companies it tracked, approximately $6 billion flowed into a total of 61 crypto and blockchain start-ups, demonstrating that despite recent price volatility, the long-term trend is here to stay. 
 

EU considers regulator with crypto focus

The European Union is set to create a brand new regulator to provide oversight of crypto. 

While the cryptosphere has been affected by recent legislation already, such as the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, it now seems that a specialist Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulator will be created, and crypto providers will fall under its remit. 

Although timescales are still to be confirmed (and hinge upon negotiations), the EU appears increasingly keen to concentrate more on this area of innovation.
 

Ripple and Travelex team up to enable crypto enterprise payments in Brazil

Ripple and Travelex Bank have collaborated to enable cross-border payments in Brazil. Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) will enable Travelex customers to send money across borders instantly, with a low-cost settlement and without the requirement to hold pre-funded capital in the market they wish to transfer the funds. 

This move reinforces Brazil’s status as a crypto advocate, following regulation implemented which protects customers and fosters innovation simultaneously. 

Brazil is already a major player in payments, with $780 billion sent each year, so this latest collaboration seems like a logical step, especially considering the advocacy sentiment displayed by Latin America more widely.

More By This Author:

Crypto Markets Surge Higher Ahead Of The Merge
Cryptoassets Hold Firm At New Resistance Levels, But Volatility Remains
Crypto March Up Gathers Pace