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Bitcoin is under pressure as the Federal Reserve has indicated that rates could go higher than expected and after a major crypto-focused lender, Silvergate Capital, collapsed.

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Cryptocurrencies took a dip on Monday to start the week and new month as investors bet the takeover of First Republic Bank could put an end to the financial crisis, which has been the biggest driver of this year's bitcoin rally.

Bitcoin fell about 4.2% to 28,137.76 to start the week and new month, according to Coin Metrics. Ether lost 4% to 1,828.81.

On Monday regulatorstook possession of First Republic, making it the third U.S. bank failure this year and the biggest one since the 2008 financial crisis. JPMorgan Chase will acquire most of its deposits and assets.

Last week, the price of bitcoin rallied in the final week of April as troubles at the bank unfolded. Trading of the cryptocurrency has been choppy, however, as investors straddle the effects of the banking crisis on crypto with high inflation, Federal Reserve policy, a potential recession and an increasingly bearish narrative building around the U.S. dollar.

"It's unclear whether the banking crisis narrative can continue to be a boon for bitcoin," said Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy. "Overall, the market lacks clear positive near-term catalysts, with supply issues overhanging bitcoin That being said, bitcoin accumulation by small addresses is outpacing issuance, and we expect Ethereum staking to increase, each of which provides a supportive supply narrative."

"Outside of crypto-native factors, we expect a back-of-the-year macro environment to be characterized by tightening, recession, and an expanding multipolarity in the global economy, all of which can be supportive of gold and bitcoin," he added.

Investors have been expecting a slowdown from bitcoin's first-quarter rally, although cryptocurrency remains on its upward trend and has gained about 70% for the year, after finishing down more than 60%. April marked the first time in two years that bitcoin notched a fourth consecutive positive month.

"Bitcoin and ether started 2023 inorganically cheap, allowing for plenty of room to move higher off a low-base effect," Thorn said. "A widening banking crisis became evident in March and the contrast with Bitcoin's transparent and decentralized nature provided a further leg up for bitcoin, while Ethereum's successful Shanghai upgrade provided a catalyst for ethereum."

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Bitcoin pulls back to start May as First Republic Bank saga comes to an end - CNBC

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin slipped back Monday after climbing for four consecutive months through April in the longest such winning run since 2021.

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The token slid as much as 4.5% and was trading at $28,221 as of 2:16 p.m. in New York. Smaller coins such as Ether and Solana also retreated, as did an index of the top 100 digital assets.

Bitcoins 72% rebound in 2023 from last years crypto rout has stalled around the $30,000 level as traders await further catalysts. The rally has been fueled by bets on an eventual Federal Reserve pivot to looser monetary policy as well as arguments that the US banking crisis eroded confidence in fiat currency.

First Republic Bank is at the center of the latest leg of the banking woes in the US. JPMorgan Chase & Co. won the bidding to acquire the bank in an emergency government-led intervention after private rescue efforts failed to fill a hole on the troubled lenders balance sheet and customers yanked their deposits.

The market is very jittery as it waits to see what happens to First Republic Bank, said Adrian Przelozny, head of crypto exchange Independent Reserve. Mondays Bitcoin wobble may be just volatility related to this, and some long positions got liquidated as the market dropped a bit, which then cascaded.

Bitcoins four-month stretch of gains through April ranks as the longest since a six-month advance to March 2021. In the past decade, four-month winning runs in Bitcoin foreshadowed an average surge of 260% over the subsequent year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Bitcoin and the wider crypto world remain exposed to a variety of risks, such as the US crackdown on the sector and the possibility of traders paring back expectations that monetary policy will become less restrictive later this year.

Story continues

For now, the Fed is expected to boost interest rates by another quarter percentage point on Wednesday to damp inflation even as economic risks build.

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Bitcoin Sags After its Longest Streak of Monthly Gains Since 2021 - Yahoo Finance

What happened

Since late afternoon yesterday, the price of the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has traded 3.5% lower as of 1:42 p.m. ET today as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting, which begins tomorrow.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a point when it wraps up its meeting on Wednesday, but I think the market will be paying closer attention to the Fed's remarks after its meeting.

One of the big reasons Bitcoin and the crypto market have rallied this year is the belief that the Fed will end its intense interest rate hiking campaign, which has proved devastating to riskier assets like Bitcoin. But it's still not a given because the trajectory of inflation may prove stickier than the market thinks, although there have been signs of inflation slowing in recent months.

Another potential reason for the decline in Bitcoin today could also have to do withJPMorgan Chase's acquisition of most of the assets fromFirst Republic Bank. First Republic has really struggled since the banking crisis began in March and saw more than $100 billion of deposit outflows in the first quarter of the year.

The acquisition by JPMorgan helps to stabilize the banking system and it also resulted in a smaller loss to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s (FDIC) Deposit Insurance Fund than many expected. Because cryptocurrencies were developed as an alternative to the mainstream banking system, Bitcoin has tended to perform well when investors were worried about the banking system.

The belief that the Fed will soon pause its interest rate hikes and struggles in the banking system have been two consistent themes driving Bitcoin higher this year.

But now investors are nervous about the Fed meeting and a resolution to First Republic does provide some stabilization in the sector. However, I still think Bitcoin will be a good long-term investment and is worth having some exposure to.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Bram Berkowitz has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Why Bitcoin Is Falling Today - The Motley Fool

Houston, Texas, USA - February 27, 2022

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Bitcoiners will tell you that education is the greatest impediment to bitcoin adoption. To bitcoin beginners, it trades like a tech stock, so it must be similar. But if you dare to dive deeper, the stock correlations, and even the price of bitcoin, become much less interesting. Its more helpful to think about bitcoin as digital gold, a scarce asset with a marginal cost of production.

That may be enough for some to start using bitcoin as a portfolio diversification tool. For those seeking a greater understanding, learning about bitcoin on your own can feel intimidating. Luckily, these four teachers are helping educate the next generation of bitcoiners, often posting free tutorials online for everyone who wants to learn.

BTC Sessions is a bitcoin educator based out of Canada. He hosts a YouTube channel and podcast dedicated to practical knowledge for bitcoin users.

Sessions found Bitcoin while he was a breakdance teacher. He credits his teaching experience with helping him to break down concepts in an easily digestible format. The YouTube channel began as a way to solve his own problems.

I probably tore my hair out half a dozen times trying to navigate basic wallets and security, Sessions told me in an interview, explaining the motivation behind his shows.

Sessions hosts two weekly shows, one that features news, and another with open ended bitcoin discussions. He also has hundreds of tutorials for the more technical aspects of using bitcoin and bitcoin hardware. His channel now boasts nearly 200k viewers a month.

Phil Snyder is a digital media professor at the University of Houston, having taught video and animation production for over a decade. He found bitcoin in 2020, which quickly began to dominate his attention. He developed a bitcoin curriculum and began the course in the fall semester of 2021.

I make it very clear that the Bitcoin protocol is really the only game really worth playing, Synder quipped in an interview with me.

His course features the cypher punk history that eventually led to bitcoins creation. It also covers bitcoins specific and still developing history. Snyder alluded to a desire to add coding to the curricula, but that is not yet in progress. While not teaching, he enjoys educating the public through articles with Bitcoin Magazine.

Guy Swann started his podcast, Bitcoin Audible, after becoming frustrated with the amount of content in audio form. His podcast focuses on reading impactful articles so that people who dont have the time to read no longer have to.

When asked why he keeps going, Swann told me he felt a moral obligation to educate the public about bitcoin. In our interview, he communicated his dissatisfaction with the crypto community equating bitcoin to just another app on your phone. His goal is to help cut through that narrative. Swanns podcast receives more than 150,000 downloads per month, which has enabled him to focus on it full time. He has also narrated 16 bitcoin books on AmazonsAMZN Audible, with a potential for two more in the near future.

Tim Niemeyer is an Air Force veteran and elementary school teacher. He began his journey in 2018 and now co-hosts the Lincolnland Bitcoin Meetup in Springfield, Illinois. While he cannot advocate for bitcoin in an official capacity, he has found ways to instill bitcoin principles into the classroom.

In an interview. Niemeyer told me that he harps on personal responsibility and producing value. He says that bitcoin has made him more patient, shifting his focus to development and behavioral concerns, rather than day to day minutia of lesson plans.

The autonomy for educators to use their creativity in lesson planning has been removed and replaced with scripted lessons, Niemeyer explained, referencing his new behavioral development focus.

While not teaching or spending time with his family, Niemeyer also enjoys contributing to Bitcoin Magazine.

A common thread through all of these interviews was a message of hope. All of the above-mentioned teachers and podcasters remain optimistic that through education, they can help to change the narrative surrounding bitcoin one person at a time.

Im a freelance writer exploring the bitcoin ecosystem. My work has been published by Bitcoin Magazine and Bitcoin News. Im personally invested in bitcoin and am fascinated by the emerging bitcoin economy.

Originally posted here:

4 Bitcoin Teachers Offering Online Education And Free Resources - Forbes

Good morning. Heres whats happening:

Prices: As Asia's trading day begins, bitcoin drops 4% to $27,981, and ether declines 2.45% to $1,824

Insights: The West will still lead Crypto's future, but the East is going to play a major role, argues the co-founder of Taipei-based Woo Network, Jack Tan.

CoinDesk Market Index (CMI)

1,197

49.3 4.0%

Bitcoin (BTC)

$27,981

1446.4 4.9%

Ethereum (ETH)

$1,824

72.3 3.8%

S&P 500

4,167.87

1.6 0.0%

Gold

$1,991

+0.4 0.0%

Nikkei 225

29,123.18

+266.7 0.9%

BTC/ETH prices per CoinDesk Indices, as of 7 a.m. ET (11 a.m. UTC)

Good Morning Asia.

Bitcoin is opening the trading day in Asia at $27,981, down 4.9% in the last 24 hours, while Ether is down 3.8% to $1,824.

Despite this slow retreat from $30,000, co-founder and CEO of research platform The Tie Joshua Frank pointed out on a recent appearance on CoinDesk TVs All About Bitcoin that there are still many positive market indicators for bitcoin.

Bitcoin's market cap dominance is surging again, nearing June 2020 highs, he noted, but liquidity remains a challenge.

"I think a lot of institutions are excited about bitcoin. I think that the risk-off narrative is resonating right now. Just like it did in 2021," he said, while explaining that a shortage of liquidity remains a challenge for the market but is also leading to bitcoins overall outperformance.

"Bitcoin is outperforming due to several reasons, including market consolidation, low trading volume, and banking uncertainty, he said. "In the short term, Bitcoin is more correlated to gold. However, the U.S. regulatory environment is unenthusiastic and negative towards crypto, contributing to low liquidity.

Story continues

As the week continues, traders will be looking to U.S. job openings on Tuesday and news from the Fed about interest rate moves on Wednesday.

There are no gainers in CoinDesk 20 today.

By: Jack Tan, co-founder of Woo Network

Crypto companies may have to move from the U.S. due to stifling regulations.

However, Western founders and teams may continue to dominate innovation by looking East, where governments are embracing new technologies.

These countries and jurisdictions have passed more crypto-friendly laws and created a welcoming business environment for firms in the digital asset space. The mix for Western companies with talent and other resources can be potentially powerful.

Regulation has become a central issue in the crypto asset space as the U.S. responds to multiple debacles that have undermined confidence in crypto. The Biden administration recently shifted its position on crypto from neutral to negative through its White House Council of Economic Advisers, which said that crypto-assets do not appear to offer investors any fundamental value to date.

Exodus of talent, capital

Major crypto players no longer look to the U.S. for leadership, and they have been seeking other jurisdictions from which to grow. For example, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the crypto industry has already started moving outside the U.S., while crypto exchange giant Coinbase, whose once upbeat outlook aboutU.S. regulation has soured, may start an overseas trading desk. AndCircle is opening a new office outside the States.

Its hard to imagine that they would go to the E.U. because even the G7, an intergovernmental political forum consisting almost entirely of Western countries, is outlining tougher regulations for digital assets. A French bill, for example, stipulates that companies will have to meet extra rules on internal controls, cybersecurity and conflicts of interest.

Why move East?

Regulators are more supportive in Asias financial centers. Japan recently relaxed token listing requirements. Hong Kong announced it was open to crypto firms, Thailand said it would waive taxes for initial coin offerings (ICOs), and Dubais regulatory framework hopes to become a global crypto hub.

The East is also l playing a bigger role in cultivating crypto innovation by spurring higher crypto adoption rates. The East dominates analytics firm Chainalysis top 20 global crypto adoption index, including Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, and China.

Additionally, money is flowing into the region. China's third largest state-owned insurance institution Pacific Insurance Investment Management Hong Kong Branch and Waterdrop Capital unveiled compliant blockchain venture capital and POS token income enhancement funds, respectively. Dubai-based Cypher Capital is looking to raise over $100 million for a new venture capital fund to target "Asian technology tycoons." HashKey Capital, which is instrumental in moving crypto forward in Hong Kong, has closed its third blockchain funding at $500 million with a focus on growth opportunities in emerging markets.

How could the West still dominate?

A more open regulatory environment, faster crypto adoption, and flow of funds to the region do not necessarily translate to the East having dominant market players in the crypto space. And Western countries still have relatively stronger economies, and cultivate exceptionally brilliant talents through an ingrained culture of innovation, and the strongest financial markets.

Westerners have founded the most innovative firms in the crypto space. For example, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao were raised and educated in Canada. The founders at Coinbase, Grayscale, OpenSea, Gemini, Kraken, Uniswap, and Chainalysis are mostly from the U.S. and educated in the US.

The West dominates the top 10 rankings of the most innovative economies as measured by the Global Innovation Index, including Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and Denmark. We would expect that innovative crypto projects would continue to originate from these locations.

The crypto space needs the support of the financial and fintech centers, and the majority of the top-ranking ones are still from the West. In the Global Financial Centres Index released last month, 14 of the top 20 financial centers are from the West, including New York, San Francisco, London, Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington DC.

The importance of a robust, risk-reward framework

Having worked in the finance industry all my professional life, I have witnessed how innovations are borne from crises and deeply stressful situations. Innovation is often messy..

Companies and governments forget this, and often, its the leaders that enact policies that lean too heavily toward protecting the status quo by limiting risk. Weve seen once innovative companies like Kodak and IBM lose their edge as they focus more on stability and the bottom line for shareholders. Meanwhile, scrappy startups with vision, talent, and nothing to lose sometimes succeed wildly provided they can operate in nurturing environments.

An East-West partnership may be cryptos model for the future.

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1:00 p.m. HKT/SGT(5:00 UTC) Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (YoY/April)

In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:

JPMorgan Chase to Take Over Most of First Republic Bank's Assets; Consensus 2023 Highlights

Another major bank has been taken over by federal regulators, resulting in the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Jason Brett, Key Bridge Advisors managing director and former U.S. Regulator at the FDIC, along with tastycrypto Head of Digital Assets Ryan Grace, joined "First Mover" to discuss how the crypto markets are reacting after most of First Republic Bank's assets and deposits will now be acquired by JPMorgan Chase. Plus, CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation Nikhilesh De shared a recap of CoinDesks yearly Consensus conference.

Bitcoin Set New Record of Daily Transactions the Same Day the U.S. Government Quietly Engineered a Bank Buyout: The events are unconnected, but crypto has a role to play in the wider political realignment questioning the sanctity of central banks and established powers.

Sotheby's Launches On-Chain Secondary NFT Marketplace: Sothebys Metaverse will now offer a curated, peer-to-peer marketplace via the Ethereum and Polygon networks.

'Shark Tank' but Make It Crypto: CoinMarketCap Launching Competition TV Show: "Killer Whale" will allow entrepreneurs to pitch ideas for new Web3 products and projects to a panel of judges.

Justin Sun to Reverse $56M Binance Transfer After CEO Zhao Warns Against Potential SUI Token Grab: "Binance Launchpool are meant as air drops for our retail users, not just for a few whales," Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted after Sun transferred $56 million in TUSD to Binance.

NFT Marketplace Blur Launches Blend, a Peer-to-Peer Lending Platform: Short for Blur Lending, Blend will allow collectors to buy blue-chip NFTs with a smaller upfront payment, similar to a down payment on a house.

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First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Market Cap Is Surging, but a Retreat From $30K Continues - Yahoo Finance