VeChain (VET ) 20% Loss Leads Crypto Drop As Russia-Ukraine Tensions Force Crypto Markets Down February 2022

Crypto markets have been hit hard as tensions between Russia and Ukraine intensify. Bitcoin and our smart contract index are down around 13-14%. This brings Bitcoin’s cumulative drawdown from its November 2021 highs to 46%. Elsewhere, our metaverse index is down the most at 17%, followed by our DeFi index, which is down 16% (see charts one and two).

• Smart contract platform index – Fantom (FTM) and VeChain (VET) are down the most at 20% WoW each. Terra (LUNA) is down the least at seven percent. Ethereum is down 12%.
• DeFi index – Aave (AAVE) and 1inch (1INCH) are down the most at 20% each WoW. Terra (LUNA) is down the least at seven percent.
• Metaverse index – The Sandbox (SAND) is down the most at 28% WoW. Ultra (UOS) is the only coin that has made gains across all coins from each index – it is up nine percent WoW.
• Bitcoin index – This is down 13%.

What are the four indices?

Here are the indices in more detail.

• Bitcoin – The OG of crypto markets deserves its own category and is in many ways the true benchmark for any other crypto market.
• Smart contract platforms – After Bitcoin, the big innovation was to have blockchains that were more programmable. These could host smart contracts or decentralized applications and have allowed the emergence of the metaverse and DeFi. Ethereum (ETH) is the most popular version of a smart contract platform. As well as Ethereum, we also include some key competitors. The constituents of this index are Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), Solana (SOL), Fantom (FTM), VeChain (VET), Terra (LUNA), EOS (EOS) and Chainlink (LINK). We also include Polkadot (DOT), which allows interoperability between blockchains and the use of smart contracts via parachains.
• Metaverse – Coins associated with the creation of a virtual space/digital world on the internet using a combination of augmented reality, virtual reality and social networks. The constituents of this index are Axie Infinity (AXS), The Sandbox (SAND), Decentraland (MANA), Enjin Coin (ENJ), Aavegotchi (GHST), Terra Virtua Kolect (TVK), Ultra (UOS), Phantasma (SOUL), RedFOX Labs (RFOX) and Gala (GALA).
• Decentralized finance (DeFi) – Financial services built on top of blockchain networks with no central intermediaries. This can be a very broad category, so we narrow this down to platforms that focus on lending/borrowing, yield farming, automated market making and decentralized exchange tokens. The constituents of this index are Aave (AAVE), Compound (COMP), Uniswap (UNI), Yearn.finance (YFI), Loopring (LRC), PancakeSwap (CAKE), Maker (MKR), 1inch (1INCH), Thorchain (RUNE) and Terra (LUNA).

Disclaimer

The commentary contained in the above article does not constitute an offer or a solicitation or a recommendation to implement or liquidate an investment or to carry out any other transaction. It should not be used as a basis for any investment decision or other decision. Any investment decision should be based on appropriate professional advice specific to your needs.

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Bilal Hafeez is the CEO and editor of Macro Hive. He spent over twenty years doing research at big banks – JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Nomura – where he had various ‘global head’ roles and did FX, rates and cross-markets research.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/FlashMovie/Vladimir Sazonov