Mempool
March 4, 2022
Why does the shortest month of the year always feel like the longest? In February, geopolitical risks took center stage as Russian forces invaded Ukraine, sparking one of the most significant military conflicts in Europe since World War II. Russia faces “powerful economic sanctions” from the U.S. and its European allies, according to President Biden’s State of the Union Address, his first since being elected to office.
As global unrest intensifies abroad, U.S. households are beginning to feel the effects of inflation at home. Despite record job growth and climbing wages, “too many families are struggling to keep up with the bills. Inflation is robbing them of the gains they might otherwise feel,” said Biden in lengthy remarks addressing his domestic agenda.
*Note that the contents of this newsletter are subject to a legal disclaimer located below*
The Big Story
In economic news, the past month’s story can be summed up with one word: Volatility. Volatility gripped global markets as geopolitical tensions weighed on investors. U.S. stocks and cryptocurrency markets stumbled in late February when Putin announced the launch of a “military operation” on Ukraine, and the S&P 500 fell into correction territory for the first time in two years. As the scope of economic sanctions against Russia widened, the ruble fell to less than a cent against the dollar. At home, the U.S. inflation rate spiked to a 40-year high.
Cryptocurrency markets showed surprising resiliency, as the total cryptocurrency market cap climbed from a Feb. 24 low of ~$1.55T to ~$1.80T at the time of writing, buoyed by strong rallies from blue-chip cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), which grew by as much as 16% in a single 24-hour period to end the month of February. Ether (ETH) also ended the month on a positive note, recovering from a February low of ~$2,315 before reaching ~$2,677 at the time of writing.
Now Trending
More cryptocurrency news…
- Ukraine Receives $22 Million in Crypto Donations as Ukrainian officials tweeted out wallet addresses for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), and more. Skip to The Deep Dive for an analysis of incoming crypto donations, presented by the Binance.US Research team. (Read more)
- Bitcoin Rises Above $40,000 as part of a broader cryptocurrency market rally through the end of February and into March. (Read more)
- Fed Chair Powell Calls for Congressional Action on Crypto amid Ukraine, Russia Conflict. “We have this burgeoning industry which has many parts to it, and there isn’t in place the kind of regulatory framework that needs to be there,” said Powell. (Read more)
- U.S. Government Seizes Billions in Stolen Cryptocurrency as a New York City couple is accused of conspiring to launder billions of dollars in Bitcoin. The catch? One of the alleged suspects starred in a series of Bitcoin-themed rap videos. (Read more)
- Crypto Ads Descend on the Sunday Game as cryptocurrency brands advertised their platforms on prime time television. Remember folks, always do your own research. (Read more)
Top Movers
Get to know the cryptocurrencies on Binance.US that made the biggest moves this past month…
The section above refers to price changes over the past 30 days, ending at the time of writing.
The Deep Dive
Stories and analysis from the Binance.US Research team…
Ukraine receives $50M in crypto donations — so far
On Feb. 26, Ukrainian officials called for donations from the crypto community, sharing wallet addresses for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Tether (USDT) in a tweet from a verified government account. Officials soon followed up with a wallet address for Polkadot (DOT), while Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister shared a wallet address for Dogecoin (DOGE).
ETH accounts for ~80% of total donations
According to publicly available information from blockchain explorers, we were able to tally the donation total and donor count across BTC, ETH, USDT, DOT, and DOGE wallet addresses. While Ukraine received well over $50M donations in a week, ETH led the pack, accounting for approximately 80% of total donations.
Crypto donations rise by nearly 400% as Ukraine announces an airdrop snapshot
We observed a unique trend emerge once Ukrainian officials announced an upcoming crypto airdrop and scheduled snapshot. Crypto airdrops are a popular reward mechanic that usually involve sending certain cryptocurrencies to participating users. Snapshots record blockchain data at a specific moment in time, essentially creating a list of eligible airdrop recipients.
What’s New
Newsworthy updates from Binance.US…
- Crypto Tax Season Made Easy. We launched a Tax Statements Portal to make the filing season less complicated for all Binance.US customers. Learn more about our tax resources and how you can get a head start on your crypto taxes, with free tools to help you file. (Learn more)
- Binance.US Celebrates Black History Month with a month-long series of interviews and events with Black leaders, artists, and creators. We spoke to Cleve Mesidor, public policy advisor at the Blockchain Association, about blockchain and policy, interviewed Rev. Wendy Hamilton, a self-described “pro-crypto” grassroots D.C. candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, about crypto in Congress, economic justice, and universal basic income. Throughout February, we conducted a series of conversations with NFT artists and creators, culminating in an NFT charity auction, with all proceeds going to Save the Children’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. (Learn more)
- Celebrating Women’s History Month at Binance.US. Throughout March and beyond, we’ll be highlighting diverse voices and perspectives from women in blockchain, crypto, finance, and more, as part of our ongoing commitment to #DismantleBarriers and #ChampionDiversity. Explore our speaker line-up and schedule of events so far, with more updates we can’t wait to announce. (Learn more)
- Binance.US Announces Appointment of Chief Compliance Officer Tammy Weinrib, who will help lead Binance.US’s compliance efforts, including the company’s know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) programs, and engage with regulators and law enforcement agencies across the United States. Tammy’s appointment marks the latest addition to Binance.US’ senior leadership team. (Learn more)
Accepting Applications: Binance.US Angel Ambassador Program. We’re looking for brand ambassadors and community volunteers with a passion for crypto and blockchain technology. If you’re looking to share your love for crypto and represent one of the most trusted brands in the industry, our Angel Ambassador Program might be right for you. (Apply Now)
What’s Trading
New cryptocurrencies on Binance.US…
- Aragon (ANT) is an Ethereum-based protocol that allows users to easily create and manage DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations. Trading is available on the ANT/USD or ANT/USDT pairs. (Learn more)
- Chiliz (CHZ) is the native Ethereum token of Socios.com, a sports fan engagement platform that allows users to interact with sports and entertainment brands. Trading is available on the CHZ/USD or CHZ/USDT pairs. (Learn more)
- Gala Games (GALA) is a utility token that serves as the native token of the Gala Games ecosystem, which hosts a variety of play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain-based games. Trading is available on the GALA/USD or GALA/USDT pairs. (Learn more)
- Livepeer (LPT) is an Ethereum protocol designed to transcode video quickly and efficiently, by distributing resource-intensive computing tasks to network participants. Trading is available on the LPT/USD, LPT/USDT, and LPT/BUSD pairs. (Learn more)
- Numeraire (NMR) is the native token that powers Numerai, an Ethereum-based hedge fund platform that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop advanced prediction models for the stock market. Trading is available on the NMR/USD and NMR/USDT pairs. (Learn more)
- Origin Token (OGN) is an ERC-20 token that serves as the native token of the Origin Protocol, which enables users to easily participate in both the NFT and DeFi space. Trading is available on the OGN/USD and OGN/USDT pairs. (Learn more)
- Polymath (POLY) is an Ethereum-based protocol that allows businesses and users to issue securities tokens. Trading is available on the POLY/USD, POLY/USDT, POLY/BUSD, and POLY/BTC pairs. (Learn more)
- Smooth Love Potion (SLP) is an in-game token from Axie Infinity, the play-to-earn blockchain game where players collect, battle, and breed digital characters called Axies. Trading is available on the SLP/USD and SLP/USDT pairs. (Learn more)
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