• The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina released February’s numbers for the consumer price index (CPI), registering an increase of 6.6%.
• Inflation reached record yearly levels, with prices rising 102.5% YoY, the highest number in more than 30 years.
• Local economists have expressed their worries about the acceleration of prices in the country, calling for changes in the economic policies of the government of Alberto Fernandez.

Record CPI Levels in Argentina

The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina released February’s numbers for the consumer price index (CPI), registering an increase of 6.6%, a consequence of the rises in prices of food and beverages principally. The number is among the highest in the history of Argentina, reaching more than 100% growth year-on-year (YoY), something that has alarmed local analysts.

High Yearly Inflation Rates

Inflation reached record yearly levels, with prices rising 102.5% YoY, which is higher than what was registered in January and it is also the highest number recorded within 30 years or more. It is expected that there will be an acceleration come March making it hard for to reach its goal set by itself: to control inflation below 100%. This makes Argentina have one off he second highest inflation rate after Venezuela with 155.8%.

Economic Worries from Local Economists

Local economists have expressed their worries about the acceleration of prices in the country, calling for changes in the economic policies put forward by president Alberto Fernandez’s government. These measures were set up since October 2020 but unfortunately it did not achieve its desired purpose as Martin Vauthier from Anker Latam mentioned “A stabilization program is required with a strong fiscal component, an exchange rate consistent with accumulation reserves and a consistent monetary policy that serves to reverse expectations and rebuild demand for money” while Santiago Manoukian from Ecolatina added “The main concern is that rise was driven by food and beverages having a greater impact on consumption basket if poorest households” .

Price Fixing To Avoid Constant Repricing

The rise in prices has made some retailers change their methods to fix prices according to U.S dollars so as to avoid constant repricing which can be very damaging when dealing with frequent changes like those happening right now due to inflation surge in Argentina .

Conclusion

To conclude , The National Institute Of Statistics And Census Of Argentina Released February’s Numbers For The Consumer Price Index Showing A Rise Of 6.6%. This Is Caused By A Hike In Prices Of Food And Beverages Which Has Led To Record Yearly Levels Reaching More Than 100% Growth Year On Year . This Has Alarmed Economists Who Are Calling For Changes In Economic Policies Set Up By President Alberto Fernandez’s Government As Well As Retailers Who Have Been Forced To Fix Prices According To U.S Dollars To Avoid Constant Repricing

• Polygon (MATIC) and Solana (SOL) have dropped to their lowest points since January as the global market cap has declined by 1.46%.
• The relative strength index (RSI) of 14 days for both MATIC/USD and SOL/USD have fallen to long-term floors, with bulls attempting to buy the dip.
• Bitcoin, Ethereum are also down following Silvergate liquidation announcement.

Crypto Markets Bearish

The overall sentiment in crypto markets remained bearish on Thursday as the global market cap fell by 1.46% as of writing. Two tokens, Polygon (MATIC) and Solana (SOL), also fell to their lowest point since January earlier in today’s session.

Polygon (MATIC)

Thursday saw polygon fall to its weakest point since January, with MATIC/USD dropping from a high of $1.11 to a bottom at $1.04 earlier in today’s session. The last time polygon traded at this level was back on January 26, which is the last time price was under $1.00. Looking at the chart, this comes as the RSI of 14 days fell to a long-term floor at 35.00 As of writing, bulls have moved in to buy the earlier dip, and MATIC is trading at $1.07 agains USDT

Solana (SOL)

Solana also slipped on Thursday, moving near a two-month low with SOL/USD finding a bottom at $18.20 after residing at a high of $19.33 yesterday . Prices are now down by over 15% in the past week and its RSI is now tracking at 33.96 – its weakest reading since the start of 2021 – however it appears that there may be some support around 18$ mark for SOL/USD for now .

Bitcoin & Ethereum

Bitcoin & Ethereum were also affected by bearish sentiment following Silvergate liquidation announcement as BTC moves to fresh multi-week low . BTC currently trades down 5% from yesterday , while ETH trades flat against USDT .

Conclusion

Overall , Crypto markets remain bearish with key tokens like POLY & SOL hitting multi month lows while BTC & ETH remain unfazed so far due to liquidation news .

• Chainalysis reported on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion in Ukraine that almost $70 million has been donated to addresses published by the Ukrainian government.
• Ether was the most donated crypto followed by bitcoin and stablecoin tether. The total amount of cryptocurrency transferred to Ukrainian government addresses is over $212 million.
• 87.3% of donations to pro-Russian groups were sent to mainstream, centralized exchanges instead of high-risk ones.

Crypto Donations for Ukraine

Chainalysis reported that nearly $70 million has been donated to addresses published by the Ukrainian government since the start of the Russian invasion in late February 2022. Ether was the most donated crypto followed by bitcoin and stablecoin tether, while donations from across the globe have amounted to over $212 million.

Donations Make an Impact

The blockchain intelligence firm noted that not only are these donations helping with military efforts but they can also encourage crypto adoption and strengthen the war-hit Ukrainian economy. Adoption by Ukraine surged over the course of war, ranking third in its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, while Russian adoption declined despite soliciting crypto donations as well.

Pro-Russian Groups Receive Donations

Chainalysis said that more than 100 pro-Russian groups are now accepting crypto funding for their activities, although they have collected less than $5.4 million combined so far. Interestingly, most funds sent to these groups have gone towards mainstream, centralized exchanges instead of high-risk ones – 87.3%.

Cryptocurrency Philanthropy Across Globe

The report highlighted that cryptocurrencies can be used as a tool for philanthropy across borders and demonstrate global support for a nation or cause during times of need or conflict – something which fiat currencies cannot do as easily or quickly owing to international banking regulations and restrictions imposed by governments across countries..

Encouraging Crypto Adoption Worldwide

Furthermore, donating cryptocurrencies instead of fiat currency allows people from all parts of world access digital funds without having access to traditional banking services or credit cards – providing wider reach for those donating money on a global scale – thus encouraging broader crypto adoption worldwide .

• Litecoin (LTC) snapped a four-day losing streak on Feb. 22, despite cryptocurrency markets mostly trading lower.
• Solana (SOL) extended recent declines, falling by as much as 7%.
• Technical indicators suggest that litecoin may continue to rise, while solana could be poised for further losses.

Litecoin Snaps Losing Streak

Litecoin (LTC) ended a four-day losing streak on Wednesday, as prices moved away from a recent support zone. LTC/USD rose to an intraday high of $95.36 earlier in today’s session, which comes 24 hours after falling to a low of $92.48. Since hitting a price floor of $91.50 to start the week, litecoin bulls have somewhat resurfaced.

Relative Strength Index

This has also delayed what many expected to be an inevitable downward crossover, between the 10-day (red) moving average, and its 25-day (blue) counterpart. Both trend lines now seem to be heading upwards, and this comes as the relative strength index (RSI) also climbed. The index is now tracking at 50.44, after bulls rejected a breakout of a floor at 49.00.

Solana Extends Declines

Solana (SOL), on the other hand, extended recent declines, as the token remained in the red for a second straight day. Following a high of $25.43 on Tuesday, SOL/USD slipped to a bottom of $23

• Wirex, a digital payments company, has become a global partner of Visa.
• The partnership allows Wirex to offer its crypto card services to customers in over 40 countries.
• Customers can use their cryptocurrencies to pay at 80 million locations where Visa is accepted worldwide and receive 8% cashback.

Wirex Becomes Global Partner of Visa

Wirex, a London-based digital payments company, has announced it has become a global partner of Visa, to allow the company to bring its card services to more markets in the world. With this move, qualified as a significant milestone by the company, Wirex will now be able to reach customers in new markets, targeting areas like APAC and the U.K.

Crypto Card Services Reach New Markets

The new partnership means that Wirex will be able to offer its crypto card services to APAC and U.K. markets. The company offers cryptocurrency-linked card services and with this partnership it will be able to reach customers in over 40 countries. This agreement builds on prior Wirex endeavors which became a principal member of Visa in Europe in 2020 and raised $15 million in its Series B funding round 2022.

Features for Crypto Payments

The objective of this partnership is to bring more cryptocurrency-linked payment means to more markets around the world, allowing digital natives to pay with crypto even at legacy merchants. Customers of Wirex cards can use their cryptocurrencies to pay at 80 million locations where Visa is accepted worldwide, receiving 8% cashback at the same time.

Uplifting Crypto Adoption

Matt Wood head of digital partnerships at Visa in the Asia Pacific region stated: “Visa wants to bring more payment options tp consumers by connecting digital currencies with our network of banks and merchants” He added that they are excited that Wirex is expanding their focus on Asia Pacific making it easy and seamless for people o spend their crypto balance at millions of merchants that accept Visa in the region.

Conclusion

Svyatoslav Garal regional managing director at Wirex APAC praised the role of Visa bringing crypto opportunities into more countries he stated: „It’s great o stregthen our partnership with visa who have played an important role in allowing us o bridge gap between traditional and digial economies.“

• The Graph (GRT) token surged by over 35% on Tuesday, hitting its highest point in 9 months.
• Litecoin (LTC) also rose, breaking a three-day losing streak and edging closer to its May high.
• Both tokens have seen strong gains this week, with the Graph up by 100.63% and Litecoin up by 15.31%.

The Graph (GRT)

The graph token surged by over 35% so far on Tuesday, as markets continued to be buoyed by the growth of its ecosystem. Since allowing integrations to new blockchains, prices of the indexing protocol’s native token have jumped by over 200% from 2022 lows. GRT/USD rose to an intraday peak of $0.1848 earlier today, a day after prices hit a low of $0.1278. As a result of this move, GRT/USD jumped to its strongest point since May 17, last year. Overall and as of writing, GRT is up by approximately 100.63% in the last seven days, and this comes after bouncing from a support at $0.090.

Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin (LTC), on the other hand, snapped a three-day losing streak, moving back towards recent highs. Following a low of $95.57 on Monday, LTC/USD jumped back above $100.00 on Tuesday, hitting a high of $100.13 in the process Today’s rebound in price sees litecoin edge towards a resistance level at $101

• Elon Musk’s plan to integrate a payment system into Twitter is advancing, with a small team working on logistics and seeking regulatory approvals and registrations.
• The payment system will initially handle fiat currencies, with plans to add cryptocurrencies later.
• Before Musk took over Twitter, former CEO Jack Dorsey had already introduced a beta crypto tipping service and NFT features in 2021.

Elon Musk’s vision for a payment system integrated into Twitter is quickly taking shape, with the social media giant beginning the process of regulatory approvals and registrations. To help make this a reality, Musk has appointed Esther Crawford as the CEO of Twitter Payments, a small team tasked with building the necessary infrastructure.

The payment system will initially handle fiat currencies, with plans to add cryptocurrencies later. Musk had mentioned this possibility during an all-hands meeting with Twitter staff in mid-June 2022. “I think it would make sense to integrate payments into Twitter so that it’s easy to send money back and forth, and fiat currency as well as crypto — essentially, whatever somebody would find useful,” he had said.

Before Musk took over Twitter, former CEO Jack Dorsey had already introduced a beta crypto tipping service and NFT features in 2021, in partnership with payments giant Stripe. This move highlighted the company’s interest in the crypto and blockchain world.

Twitter has already taken steps to make Musk’s vision a reality. In addition to applying for financial licenses in several states, the company is also working with relevant financial bodies to ensure compliance with global payment regulations.

As a result, Twitter users may soon be able to send and receive payments in fiat currency and cryptocurrencies alike. This will open up a whole new world of possibilities for Twitter, allowing it to become a hub for online payments, and potentially allowing it to compete with the likes of PayPal, Apple Pay, and other payment services.

• Economist Mohamed El-Erian predicts that inflation will become „sticky“ in midyear, around 4%, despite the Federal Reserve’s attempts to bring it down to 2%.
• The Fed has raised rates seven times since last year and inflation has decreased since reaching double digits in October and November 2022.
• JLL CEO Christian Ulbrich has suggested that 5% may become the new 2%, meaning inflation will persistently remain around 5%.

Despite the Federal Reserve’s attempts to bring inflation levels down to its 2% goal, economist Mohamed El-Erian of the University of Cambridge believes otherwise. El-Erian predicts that inflation will become “sticky” in midyear, around 4%.

The Federal Reserve, headed by its 16th chair Jerome Powell, has been using its monetary tightening policy and interest rate hikes to reduce inflation. Since last year, the Fed has raised rates seven times, with increases happening on a monthly basis. Inflation in the U.S. has slowly decreased since it approached double digits in October and November 2022.

At the 2023 World Economic Forum event in Davos, last week, JLL CEO Christian Ulbrich, among other peers, suggested that 5% may become the new 2%. Ulbrich told the Financial Times that inflation will persistently remain around 5%, and this is something investors and market participants should take into consideration.

El-Erian, president of Queens’ College at the University of Cambridge, agrees with the idea that inflation will be higher than the Federal Reserve’s goal. He stated on January 17 that inflation “may become ‘sticky’ at a higher level than currently anticipated.”

With the Federal Reserve’s efforts to bring inflation down to its 2% goal, investors and market participants are closely monitoring inflation levels. This is especially true as the annual inflation rate dropped to 6.5% in December 2022. While many experts predict it will decrease further, El-Erian and Ulbrich believe inflation will remain at a higher level than what the Federal Reserve hopes for.

• Bitcoin’s mining difficulty printed a record increase on Jan. 15, 2023, rising 10.26% to 37.73 trillion at block height 772,128, making it the highest difficulty rating on the Bitcoin blockchain.
• The difficulty increase surpasses all but one of the difficulty increases from last year, with the largest difficulty increase taking place on Oct. 10, 2022, at block height 758,016, when it rose by 13.55%.
• Bitcoin’s price has climbed 22.7% higher in the last seven days, which is beneficial to Bitcoin miners, however the 10.26% difficulty increase will make profits a lot tighter.

On Jan. 15, 2023, the Bitcoin network experienced a difficulty retarget at 4:11 p.m. Eastern time, at block height 772,128, resulting in an increase of 10.26%. This brought the network’s difficulty to an all-time high of 37.73 trillion, making it exceptionally difficult to find a valid Bitcoin block and add it to the blockchain. This difficulty rating surpassed the previous record of 36.76 trillion, which was set on Nov. 6, 2022. The difficulty increase also outpaced all but one increase from all of 2022, with the largest difficulty increase taking place on Oct. 10, 2022, at block height 758,016, when it rose by 13.55%.

At 8:15 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, approximately 286.36 exahash per second (EH/s) of hashrate was dedicated to the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. This is a significant increase from the beginning of the year when the network’s hash rate reached an all-time high of 361.20 exahash per second (EH/s) on Jan. 6, 2023, at block height 770,709.

The increase in difficulty comes as the price of Bitcoin has seen a surge in the past week, climbing 22.7% higher. This is beneficial to miners, however the 10.26% difficulty increase will make profits a lot tighter. Despite this, miners are still continuing to dedicate their hashrate to the network, showing that the mining industry is still very much alive, and the Bitcoin network remains secure.

• Gold prices have jumped 2.36% against the dollar in the first week of the new year.
• Central bank demand and ongoing geopolitical tensions are driving gold’s ascent in 2023.
• Experts believe the yellow metal is set to shine this year and are watching central bank gold purchases with particular interest.

Gold prices have surged in the first week of the new year, with the precious metal jumping 2.36% against the US dollar. This is a continuation of the upward trend seen since November 3, when gold rose 14.55% and silver increased 22.31% against the greenback. This surge in demand has prompted experts to predict record highs for gold in 2023.

According to the head of metals strategy at MKS Pamp Group, there is a “decent amount of bullish ‚pent-up‘ demand that has been carried over from last year” for gold. This demand is being driven by several factors, including central bank purchases and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Central banks around the world, particularly in China, Turkey, and India, have been buying gold at a record pace. This trend has been going on for the past 13 consecutive years, but recently the pace has accelerated.

This central bank demand, combined with the geopolitical unrest, have caused a “Gold Mining Bull” to believe that the yellow metal will perform better in 2023. The author of the two-part series argues that gold is “set to shine” this year and is paying particularly close attention to central bank gold purchases. They are increasing their gold reserves in order to diversify their portfolios and hedge against inflation.

With gold prices continuing to rise, investors are eagerly awaiting to see how the precious metal will perform in the coming months. Experts are hopeful that the bull market will continue, and the precious metal will reach record highs in 2023.