Russia’s Gazprom announced an indefinite suspension of gas supply to Europe, bolstering inflation fears. The renewed risk aversion capped upside in ether.

Ether (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency by market value, looked set for renewed price ahead of the Ethereum “Merge,” according to observers tracking chart patterns.

However, buyers remained on the sidelines early Monday, perhaps due to fears that inflation would worsen in the wake of Russian energy giant Gazprom’s indefinite suspension of gas supply to Europe and force central banks to stick to rapid liquidity withdrawal.

Last week, the native token of Ethereum’s blockchain broke out of a falling wedge pattern identified by two converging and descending trendlines connecting Aug. 14 and Aug. 25 highs and lows hit on Aug. 10, Aug. 20 and Aug. 28.

“The formation is solid confirmation that ETH could go up in September more than anybody thinks,” Bill Noble, chief technical analyst at cryptocurrency research company Token Metrics told CoinDesk when asked what the wedge breakout indicates.

Ether’s wedge breakout indicates the correction from the Aug. 14 high of $2,000 has ended and the uptrend from the June 13 low of $1,000 is likely to resume.

Prices doubled in the four weeks to Aug. 14 as equity markets regained poise and Ethereum developer Tim Beiko hinted at Sept. 19 as the deadline for the long-awaited Ethereum Merge – the technological upgrade that will transform the smart contract platform to a proof-of-stake network. The overhaul is likely to cause a drastic reduction in ETH supply and bring a store of value appeal to the cryptocurrency.

The Merge is slated to happen sometime around Sept. 15.

Traders often use technical analysis – a study of price patterns – to help make investment decisions.

The falling wedge begins wide at the top and contracts as prices move lower, causing the two descending trendlines to converge as the pattern matures. The converging nature of trend lines represents shallower lows, a sign of decreasing selling pressure. Therefore, a breakout is taken to mean a bullish revival.

Ether exited the falling wedge on Thursday, setting the stage for a pre-Merge rally.

“Ether has broken out of a falling wedge. A move above $1,700 would add conviction in the bullish momentum heading into the Merge,” Lewis Harland, a researcher at Decentral Park Capital, said.

Gazprom plays spoilsport

The cryptocurrency appeared on track to cross $1,700 on Friday after a supposed goldilocks U.S. nonfarm payrolls report revived hopes for slower Federal Reserve rate hikes after September.

However, the ascent stalled after Russian energy giant Gazprom scrapped a Saturday deadline to resume gas supply to Europe via the Nord Steam 1 pipeline, citing a technical fault.

The news bolstered inflation fears, zapping investor risk appetite. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, energy supply disruptions in Europe and other parts of the world have worsened, leading to sticky inflation. That has forced global central banks to suck out liquidity with rapid interest rate hikes and other tools.

According to Politico, Gazprom said on Saturday it would increase its shipments of gas to Europe via Ukraine. However, markets seemed skeptical that would help and remained weak at press time, with major European equity futures trading 2% lower while the dollar index topping 110.00 for the first in two decades.

Ether traded flat at around $1,565 while bitcoin was priced at $19,765, according to CoinDesk data.

The post Ether Eyes Price Rally After ‘Wedge’ Breakout, But Europe’s Energy Crisis Zaps Risk Appetite appeared first on Crypto Insider.

Reuters reports a number of top government officials as promising an imminent change to the country’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act.

The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will soon submit to parliament a revision to its foreign exchange law aimed at blocking Russia from skirting Western sanctions via crypto.

Following last week’s Group of Seven summit in Belgium, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in parliament on Monday called for amendments to Japan’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno – speaking at a press conference – promised revisions would soon be submitted to lawmakers.

Speaking with Reuters, a finance ministry official said discussions had already begun on the proposed changes.

The revisions are aimed at strengthening protections against Russia trying to evade sanctions with digital assets.

Earlier this month, Japan’s Financial Services Agency and the Ministry of Finance demanded that about 30 crypto exchanges not conduct asset transactions with sanction targets. At the time, the body representing crypto-asset exchange companies announced it “will take guidance and other necessary measures for members who are engaged in the crypto asset exchange business so that they can appropriately and smoothly respond to the response required by this request.”

Exchanges today said they had started confirmation of the screening status of each member for reliable screening, and examined the possibility of efficient screening using a blockchain analyst.

The post Japan to Plug Loophole to Prevent Russia From Evading Sanctions Through Crypto appeared first on Crypto Insider.

The donation by the online subscription platform is among the many crypto-based efforts to support Ukraine during its war against Russia.

The popular video subscription platform OnlyFans says it donated 500 ETH (roughly $1.3 million) to UkraineDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization raising funds to support Ukraine during its war against Russia.

A representative of OnlyFans told CoinDesk the donation is a part of the company’s larger charitable effort to support Ukraine, led by OnlyFans’ Ukrainian-American owner Leonid Radvinsky.

The company says it has now sent over $5 million to various humanitarian efforts supporting the country, with an additional $1 million donation planned to be sent March 15.

“These tragic events have had a terrible impact on individuals including members of our creator community,” Ami Gan, CEO of OnlyFans, said in a statement. “Given our strong personal ties to Ukraine, we wanted to support in a way which felt true to who we are at OnlyFans and which focused on getting aid and support to the Ukrainian people.”

UkraineDAO has been a leading crypto contributor to Ukraine’s government in recent weeks, which has now received over $50 million in crypto donations since tweeting out its ether (ETH) and bitcoin (BTC) addresses in February.

The DAO was formed by Russian art collective Pussy Riot and non-fungible token (NFT) studio Trippy Labs, with its largest single donation coming from a $6.5 million crowdfunded NFT sale on March 2, to which OnlyFans’ 500 ETH donation contributed.

At the point that OnlyFans made the 500 ETH donation, the DAO was stalled at about half of the 1,000 ETH reserve amount, a representative said. The OnlyFans donation pushed the amount over the top, and from that point on, more donations began to pile in.

The post OnlyFans Donated 500 ETH to DAO Supporting Ukraine appeared first on Crypto Insider.

All proceeds will be donated to the Ukraine Red Cross and UNICEF as Russia’s invasion continues.

Ukrainian boxing legend and two-time heavyweight world champ Wladimir Klitschko is releasing a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to support Ukraine’s war effort.

Proceeds from the collection will be donated to Red Cross Ukraine and UNICEF. The collection, titled “Vandalz for Ukraine: WhIsBe x Wladimir Klitschko,” was made in partnership with artist WhIsBe, and will be available to mint in a tiered pricing model for $100, $1,000 and $10,000.

“It is a magnificent initiative, a support through art at the service of people who suffer,” Klitschko said in a statement. “Art can be beautiful on many levels when used to serve humanity.”

Klitschko and his brother Vitali, who is the current mayor of Kiev and also a former champion boxer, have become faces of the country’s military resistance, having both chosen to fight on the front lines despite their celebrity status.

The collection is one of numerous NFT-related projects to be released in support of Ukraine in recent weeks.

An NFT of the Ukrainian flag sold for $6.75 million on March 2, and the total contributions made to Ukraine via cryptocurrency during the war have now surpassed $50 million.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be of service for the greater good,” WhIsBe said in a statement. “It’s incredible to be able to use my art and this emerging technology to help others in need and provide immediate relief to any location in the world.”

The post Ukrainian Boxer Wladimir Klitschko Releases NFT Collection to Support Relief Effort appeared first on Crypto Insider.

The Ministry of Finance is pushing forward with cryptocurrency regulation in Russia. Crypto payments will still be prohibited.

Russia’s Ministry of Finance is pushing forward with its plan to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country, and has introduced a bill to parliament. According to a press release published on Monday, the bill was presented Feb. 18. and is based on the previously approved roadmap drafted by several government bodies, including key law-enforcement agencies.

The announcement highlights the policy split with the Bank of Russia, which opposes regulation and would rather see cryptocurrency trading and mining banned. The central bank, which has been pushing forward the pilot of its central bank digital currency, the digital ruble, has suggested punishing crypto trading and issuance with fines up to 500,000 rubles ($6,360) for individuals and 1 million rubles for companies, TASS news agency reported.

In the press release, the Ministry of Finance said the objections of the Bank of Russia “will be considered in the further work on this bill where they don’t contradict the Ministry of Finance approach.”

The official text of the bill is not yet available in the online database for legislative documents.

The bill treats crypto as an investment tool, not a legal tender, and says cryptocurrencies may not be used to pay for goods and services. It also specifies requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges and over-the-counter desks, which must satisfy certain criteria to obtain a license and be included in a dedicated government register. Foreign crypto exchanges must register legal entities in Russia to provide services in the country.

All cryptocurrency-to-fiat transactions must be conducted through bank accounts, and users must go through know-your-customer (KYC) checks with both banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, the press release said.

Exchanges also will have to inform users about the risks of investing in crypto. Investors will have to pass online tests to ensure they have sufficient knowledge about cryptocurrencies and related risks. Those who pass the test can invest up to 600,000 rubles a year in crypto; those who don’t are limited to 50,000 rubles. Qualified investor won’t have any limits.

Cryptocurrency exchanges must keep their own crypto and their users’ funds in separate accounts and maintain a record of all their users’ crypto addresses. Users must not be held liable for any debt of their exchanges.

Cryptocurrency mining will also be regulated under proposed bill. It will be supervised by dedicated government agencies, the press release said, without providing further details.

The post Russian Government Introduces Crypto Bill to Parliament Over Central Bank Objections appeared first on Crypto Insider.

Moscow City firms received as much as 48% of their crypto from illicit addresses.

Almost three-quarters of revenue from ransomware attacks last year, or $400 million, went to addresses that are “highly likely” to be affiliated with Russia, according to a report from crypto analytics firm Chainalysis.

The firm determines whether ransomware strains are affiliated to Russia based on three criteria: Whether they avoid attacking former Soviet countries, markers such as language and location, and whether they are related to Russia-based cybercrime organization Evil Corp., Chainalysis said on Monday.

Ransomware attacks have grown in the past year, according to a joint report of U.S., U.K. and Australian cybersecurity authorities. North American addresses are the biggest targets, according to another Chainalysis report. The U.S. government is pushing for measures to combat this type of attack, in which hackers hold a firm’s data hostage.

In 2019-2021, between 29% and 48% of all crypto going to addresses belonging to businesses in Moscow City, the Russian capital’s financial center, came from “illicit and risky” addresses, said the research report.

The recipients included Suex, an over-the-counter exchange that has been sanctioned by the U.S. government, Eggchange, whose co-founder was reportedly arrested by Russian authorities in November, and peer-to-peer exchange Bitzlato.

These firms are linked to money laundering of the illegally obtained funds, Chainalysis said.

Some instances of firms receiving low proportions of illicitly obtained crypto can be attributed to their lack of awareness, rather than criminal activity, the report said.

Of all the crypto going to Moscow City, funds coming from scams, at $313 million, and darnknet markets, at $296 million, made up the majority of illicit crypto in that time period. Ransomware came third at $38 million.

The post Russia-Affiliated Addresses Received 74% of Ransomware Revenue Last Year appeared first on Crypto Insider.