Buyers of Bitcoin (BTC) have been active in the last 24 hours, as the cryptocurrency has surpassed $44,000 for the first time in the last few weeks. After technical indicators reached their most oversold levels since March 2020, upward momentum is picking up. At press time, BTC was trading approximately $43,310.10, down 1.37% in the previous 24 hours.

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Buyers would need to make a significant move over $43,000 to reverse the price decline that has occurred from the November top of approximately $69,000. Brief rallies have been limited below resistance levels in recent months, indicating that sellers have been in charge.

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However, bitcoin may experience more gains in the short term, especially given the relative strength index (RSI) is not overbought on the daily chart. The next level of resistance is around $45,000, which may put a halt to the current advance.

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Bitcoin fear and greed index on Friday, February 11, 2022, went from the neutral level of 51 to the level of 50 as per the alternative. me. The Fear and Greed index is a technique for assessing investors’ emotions toward the market.

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Bitcoin is currently trading around $43,247.25, down 1.36%. In the last 24 hours, the highest it touched was $45,661.17 and the lowest was $42,864.32. Bitcoin has a current market cap of $820,956,832,033. It has a circulating supply of 18,954,568.00 BTC coins and a maximum supply of 21,000,000 coins.

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Ransomware payments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies hit at least $600 million in 2021, according to Chainalysis

Chainalysis—a blockchain data firm—has found that value stolen through crypto-ransomware attacks likely rose from 2020 to 2021—it just hadn’t accounted for it all yet. According to a preview of the company’s 2022 Crypto Crime Report, it’s identified $602 million in ransomware payouts for 2021, compared to $692 million for 2020. However, it believes the 2021 figure to be an “underestimate” given that it has revised its initial 2020 estimate upward by nearly 50%. “Anecdotal evidence, plus the fact that ransomware revenue in the first half of 2021 exceeded that of the first half of 2020, suggests to us that 2021 will eventually be revealed to have been an even bigger year for ransomware,” the report states. According to Chainalysis, the Russian-based group Conti was easily the biggest ransomware strain last year in terms of revenue. Using a ransomware-as-a-service model (RaaS), Conti operators extorted over $180 million from their victims. 

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The digital euro bill will be introduced in early 2023: EU finance chief

The European Commission has announced that a bill for a digital euro will be proposed in 2023. As first reported by Politico, EC finance chief Mairead McGuinness officially disclosed the EU’s formal consideration of digital euro legislation at a fintech conference on Wednesday. “Our goal is to table legislation in early 2023,” the Commissioner for Financial Service said. “A targeted legislative consultation in the coming weeks.” The European Central Bank (ECB) is already experimenting with designs and systems for a digital euro, with a prototype expected sometime in late-2023. If a digital euro is to be implemented, it will require the seal of approval from Eurozone governors. If they give the green light, then the digital euro could be ready for issuance by 2025.