Most cryptocurrencies have traded higher in the last 24 hours, although with big price fluctuations, after the United States Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates for the first time since 2018.

The Fed also boosted its inflation estimates and indicated that interest rates will be raised in comparable increments six more times this year. Low-interest rates and central bank support have aided rallies in speculative assets, including cryptocurrency.

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Bitcoin (BTC) dipped nearly 3% immediately after the Fed statement but soon recovered by the close of the New York trading day. The S&P 500 had similar price movements, as Treasury yields and the US currency trimmed previous advances.

As the consolidation between $36K and $45K levels continues, Bitcoin’s price has been able to establish support in the $38-39K zone yet again. Given the present bullish momentum, a retest of the 100-day moving average and finally, the $45K resistance zone appears to be near.

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The latter has proven to be a strong supply zone, rejecting the price many times in recent weeks. If this level is ultimately broken, the next objective is expected to be the 200-day moving average ($49K), which is one of the most important indications for determining whether the market is bullish or bearish.

Bitcoin fear and greed index on Thursday, March 17, 2022, went from the extreme fear level of 24 to the fear level of 27 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 $40,745.55, up 2.90%. In the last 24 hours, the highest it touched was $41,323.26 and the lowest was $39,550.75. Bitcoin has a current market cap of $773,589,901,222. It has a circulating supply of 18,985,643.00 BTC coins and a maximum supply of 21,000,000 coins.

Dubai issues a virtual asset licence to Binance for regional business

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been granted a licence to conduct some operations in Dubai, the company said on Wednesday, from where it plans to carry out regional business. The awarding of the Virtual Asset Licence from Dubai’s recently formed Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) comes after Gulf neighbour Bahrain on Tuesday awarded Binance a crypto-asset service provider licence, its first such licence from a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country. “Binance will be permitted to extend limited exchange products and services to pre-qualified investors and professional financial service providers. All licensed VARA service providers will be monitored progressively to open access to the retail market,” Binance said in a statement. The crypto company will also anchor a blockchain technology hub in the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), it said.

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Ukraine’s Prez signs law legalizing and regulating cryptocurrency assets

Amidst its ongoing conflict with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has officially signed a law “On Virtual Assets” legalizing cryptocurrency assets in the country. The signed law defines what is considered a crypto asset, taps the National Bank of Ukraine and its National Commission on Securities and Stock Market as crypto regulators, and establishes other regulations surrounding who can offer cryptocurrencies and how they must be registered in Ukraine. An earlier version of this bill was proposed last September, but President Zelensky requested changes. The Ukrainian government first introduced the revised version of the bill on February 17. Today’s signing makes the law office in the European nation. It’s important to note that crypto was not illegal in Ukraine prior to now, and also that Ukraine’s announcement does not say anything about making Bitcoin legal tender in the country, so today’s move is not akin to what El Salvador has done.