CRYPTOCURRENCY; A SPECULATIVE FICTION
Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to fall following sell-off in equity markets

It is likely to get worse for crypto before it gets better

Bitcoin and Ethereum continued their respective downward trends as sentiment leaves the market, with investors anticipating the conflict in Eastern Europe will go on longer than originally thought, according to analysts.

Bitcoin fell to US$38,265, its lowest price in over a week, while Ethereum hit a five-week low, falling 0.63% to change hands at US$2,520.

According to Naeem Aslam, market analyst at avatrade, movement over the last 24 hours was “spurred by the broader sell-off in equity markets.”

London's FTSE 100 closed 27 points lower than yesterday’s open.

Markets in America saw bigger declines, with the Nasdaq losing 482 points, falling 3.62%, and the Dow Jones falling by 797 points, or 2.37%.

Aslam adds that “sentiment suffered as investors reassessed the risks associated with the Russia-Ukraine conflict and likely projected that the war’s ramifications would last longer than expected.”

And it is predicted that it's likely to get worse for crypto before it gets better.

“Cryptocurrency markets may experience additional volatility this week as President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order outlining the American government's strategy for catering to the blockchain space.”

“The order will examine the regulatory changes required by the United States as well as how cryptocurrencies may affect the country’s national security.”

In other crypto news, Coinbase blocked 25,000 accounts that were linked to Russian users.

Exchanges and crypto companies had held talks over the last week with Western leaders over enforcing crypto sanctions on Russian accounts.

In some of the alt coins, XRP was down 2.53% to US$0.721, Cardano was down 2.63% to US$0.795 and Dogecoin was down 1.67% to US$0.9942

IT IS NOT AN ALTERNATIVE TO GOLD