Kaohoon Morning Brief – 21 February 2022

1) Biden agrees to meet with Putin in principle

The U.S. President Joe Biden has agreed to meet the Russian President Vladimir Putin in principle in what could be a last-ditch effort at a diplomatic approach to calm tensions surrounding Ukraine and possible an invasion from Moscow.

Russia has been reportedly deploying more than 190,000 Russian troops at the Ukrainian border.

 

2) Two civilians killed by Ukrainian shelling, says Russia’s RIA news agency

Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine said that two civilians were killed in shelling by Ukrainian forces late Sunday, reported Russia’s RIA news agency.

Also late Friday, a huge explosion in the center of Donetsk, Ukraine, was reported as well.

 

3) Expert expects Bitcoin bull market to rally again in late 2024

Bitcoin may not see a bull market until late 2024 or in early 2025, saying that bull markets are closely tied to a process called halving, which occurs every four years, said Du Jun, the co-founder of Huobi, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

According to the co-founder, the last halving occurred in 2020, and Bitcoin hit a record high in 2021 above $68,000. A similar situation happened in 2016 when the market halved and reached an all-time high at the time in the following year.

 

4) Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for Covid-19, but with mild symptoms

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms, according to the report from Buckingham Palace.

Her eldest son Prince Charles and daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall also tested positive for the virus recently in which the prince had been reportedly visiting the queen before the test.

The queen has received three Covid-19 vaccine shots.