Market Wrap: S&P Drops to Lowest Point Since June 2021 as BTC Extends Losses

Stocks have plunged to their lowest point since June 2021 as the country has continued to amass troops along Ukraine’s border

article-image

Ukraine Parliament in Kyiv.

share

key takeaways

  • Pentagon spokesperson says Russia is ready and positioned to invade Ukraine
  • Stocks have fallen to their lowest point since June 2021 as bitcoin’s losses mount

As Ukraine's plight intensifies, equity and crypto markets continued their downturn Wednesday.

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, said Russian forces have continued to amass along the Ukrainian border.

"Russian forces continue to assemble closer to the border and put themselves in an advanced stage of readiness to act and to conduct military action in Ukraine at virtually any time now," Kirby said. "We believe they are ready."

Asked if Russia had continued its advance into the pro-Russia regions in Donbas, Kirby said the Pentagon can't confirm "with any great specificity" the numbers, but "we certainly believe that that's happening."

Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins, however, told CNN that Russia is moving more forces and tanks into the territories.

"By any definition, that's a crossing of a sovereign territory into a neighboring country," Karins said.

Investors have continued selling as uncertainty builds, driving the S&P 500 to its lowest point since June 2021. The Nasdaq and Dow have also dropped to lows of nearly eight months.

[stock_market_widget type="accordion" template="chart" color="#5B35D5" assets="^GSPC,^IXIC,^DJI" start_expanded="true" display_currency_symbol="false" api="yf" chart_range="1mo" chart_interval="1d"]

Bitcoin extended losses by the close of stock trading, dropping around 0.7%. Other cryptos managed to stay mostly flat or marginally in the black. Ether rose by half a percentage point, while the layer-1 altcoin LUNA booked a considerable 12% gain.

[stock_market_widget type="accordion" template="chart" color="#5B35D5" assets="BTC-USD,ETH-USD,LUNA1-USD" start_expanded="true" display_currency_symbol="true" api="yf" chart_range="1mo" chart_interval="1d"]

Top stories

Story: Blockchain Association Executive Director Dishes on Crypto Regulatory Roadmap

  • The lobbyist is “optimistic” about the crypto executive order expected this week
  • The Blockchain Association, which educates lawmakers and regulators on crypto and blockchain technologies, hopes to further grow its lobbying capabilities

Story: Investors Can Now Buy Home Equity Slices Via Fractionalized NFTs

  • “Imagine a world where, with a few clicks of your mouse, you can access the entire accumulated value of the equity in your home without incurring debt or selling and moving,” the startup's CEO said
  • The fractionalized NFTs are packaged as a security and registered with the SEC

Story: Miami Family Office Backing NFT Fund Launch Helmed by Fine Art Collector

  • The fund is one of a growing number of new NFT-focused vehicles as institutional investors crave exposure to the space
  • Liquidity is an issue with digital collectible funds, with hedge and private equity setups both in contention for limited-partner lockup periods

Story: Valkyrie Vies To Manage Crypto Companies’ Treasuries

  • Valkyrie Investments has launched a treasury management service for crypto companies looking to offload balance sheet responsibilities
  • Its first client is the NEM/Symbol protocols, which recently announced their merger

Going forward

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine rise by the hour, the economic road ahead looks rocky. Investors will be on the lookout for Wednesday's initial jobless claims report — plus, core and PCE inflation metrics are due out Friday.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

recent research

Blinks Report Image.png

Research

Blinks enable the ability to vampire attack user monetization of existing networks by inserting onchain and financialized functionalities directly within the popular social feeds and digital experiences of today.

article-image

Plus, how the FTX collapse played out in Asian countries

article-image

Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour said Thursday marked the “the first trade on regulated election markets in nearly a century”

article-image

I was excited about being on the precipice of realigning societal incentives and solving many issues plaguing our modern financial world

article-image

Cypherpunk Holdings has rebranded to Sol Strategies in a pivot to a Solana-first investment approach

article-image

BitGo’s wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) has a new custodial challenger

article-image

Make no mistake: Tether makes a ton of money. But exactly how much depends a lot on the price of bitcoin.