Cryptocurrencies steadied after the woes of the TerraUSD stablecoin triggered a flight from many popular digital tokens.
Bitcoin climbed back to about $29,000 on Thursday, from its lowest point since 2020. Tokens such as Avalanche and Solana, which underpin some key decentralised finance protocols, posted double-digit percentage gains.
The TerraUSD stablecoin was still below it $1 intended peg, while affiliated token Luna struggled. Overall, the cryptocurrency sector is nursing heavy losses for the week and sentiment remains fragile.
“UST’s collapse undercuts confidence in all liquidity protocols,” said Aaron Brown, a cryptocurrency investor who writes for Bloomberg Opinion.
“If UST can fail, maybe Aave can too. Sort of like when Bear Stearns failed, it focused people’s attention on whether Lehman would fail.”
The TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin — also known as UST — has been bouncing between 20 cents and 90 cents and was at about 75 cents as of 10.35am in Singapore.
Backers of the coin are trying to raise about $1.5 billion to shore up the token after it crashed from its dollar peg, according to the founder of a company that was approached about the deal.
“Is the market getting spooked by what is happening with Terra? The answer is yes,” said Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler.
“Money-market funds are important to investors and right now, we are questioning the third-largest money-market fund in crypto land. People did not think we were going to break the buck on that and that has clearly happened.”
Cryptocurrency sentiment was also hurt by elevated US inflation, which points to aggressive interest-rate increases — an unfavourable environment for risk assets.
Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at UK-based digital-asset broker GlobalBlock, said there was “extreme fear” across the cryptocurrency market.
James Malcolm, head of foreign exchange and crypto research at UBS, said the area around $30,000 had been an “especially sensitive zone” for Bitcoin.
That is where mining economics turn negative, “which could potentially lead to increased coin sales by this key cohort”, Mr Malcolm said.
Meanwhile, Coinbase shares and bonds fell to new lows on Wednesday, signalling investor scepticism about the prospects of the cryptocurrency exchange in a bear market.
The company reported lower-than-expected revenue yesterday, and issued a warning that trading volume and the number of monthly transacting users in the second quarter are expected to be lower than in the first.
Piper Sandler‘s Mr Johnson said that is another concern for cryptocurrency investors right now as “it is the largest exchange here in the United States and they just turned a loss”. He said Terra’s troubles are all “snowballing in crypto land.”
Still, a lot of cryptocurrency investors, cognisant that Bitcoin has gone through a boom-and-bust cycle before only to recoup losses over and over again, are preaching patience.
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
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MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
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Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
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- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
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- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
SHAITTAN
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali
Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km
