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Good morning, and thanks for reading another edition of Crypto Dispatch!

Here’s a question we’re pondering: can Bored Apes swim?

We hope so. At the very least, we hope they have access to lifeboats on their yachts because it looks like the hype around NFT marketplaces is a sinking ship, with trading volume falling consistently over seven days.

CryptoBriefing reports that prices across the board have been in steady decline for blue-chip NFTs since the start of February, with highly prized artworks taking the hardest hits. BAYC NFTs, for instance, have lost roughly 60% of their value from their all-time highs, although on OpenSea, there are still apes going for tens of millions. CryptoPunks are also down 60%.

So why is everyone suddenly so bearish on NFTs? Maybe it has something to do with the wildly volatile markets and investors trying to play it safe amidst economic uncertainty, unprecedented energy costs and rising inflation. Maybe people are getting back to basics instead of pouring cash into digital art. Or maybe people are just moving on to the next hot thing.

Whatever the reason, if there’s a NFT you want, keep your eye on it. If it doesn’t go to zero, maybe you can snap it up for a bargain.

In today’s edition:

🙅‍♂️ Visa and Mastercard pull services from Russia simultaneously.

👻 Fantom employee ghosts DeFi community

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Credit card companies Visa and MasterCard have joined a growing list of financial institutions suspending services in Russia as the invasion of Ukraine continues amid unprecedented economic sanctions.

What happened: On Saturday, the pair of prime players in global payments systems announced they would implement their own version of economic sanctions by limiting the use of Russian-issued cards outside the country and making foreign-issued cards useless within Russia’s borders.

The credit competitors made announcements within 16 minutes of each other following a private call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. lawmakers.
“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” said Visa CEO Al Kelly.
PayPal Inc. also halted operations over the weekend due to “violent military aggression in Ukraine.”

This show of solidarity with Ukraine will come at a price as both companies report that business dealings with Russia and its retailers make up about 4% of net revenues.

It contrasts with crypto companies refusing to impose restrictions on Russian clients. Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, said his company would only block Russian users if “legally required.”

Jason Powell, CEO of Coinbase, has a similar sentiment, although the company did announce it had suspended 25,000 accounts suspected of engaging in “illicit” activity.

Why it matters: Western-imposed economic sanctions have already caused significant disruption to Russia’s economy. A large chunk of the country’s $650 billion central bank reserves are frozen, and the ruble’s price continues a steep and steady downslope.

In 2015, the country began to develop independent financial tools, including SWIFT alternative SPFS, after seeing how the West responded to the annexation of Crimea.
Russia’s largest lender, Sberbank Rossii PAO, said holders of Russian-issued cards

have nothing to worry about as the transactions will be processed on the domestic National Payment Card System.

But Russia may have already found an alternative to American credit card companies as it considers turning to China’s UnionPay system that could work in conjunction with MIR, the country’s home-grown payment network.

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Cronje quits DeFi

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