Cryptocurrency and financial markets were hit hard soon after Putin ordered a “special military operation” on Ukrainian territory.
However, the markets are pricing the future, and following Biden’s speech that confirmed the US would not apply any severe sanctions – global markets and crypto quickly recovered. Thursday saw a 7% intra-day gain in wall street, and Friday also saw a green spike on Wall Street’s screens.
The main digital asset is currently hovering around $39,000 after hitting over $40,000 (on Bitstamp), which is even higher than the days before the conflict. Most altcoins are also in green, while the crypto market cap hit $1.77 trillion (a 3.3% increase from the last day).
BTC Touched $40K
Bitcoin, similar to other financial assets, lost a significant chunk of its valuation after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. Specifically, the coin plummeted to nearly $34,000 (its lowest price in the last 30 days). The following uncertainty whether the NATO members would send troops to Eastern Europe was not a bullish factor for bitcoin, spreading much of uncertainty.
However, the major cryptocurrency started its rally in the early hours of Thursday when US President – Joe Biden – asserted that US forces would not be sent to Ukraine to participate in a direct military conflict. Instead, the politician pledged to impose tough financial sanctions on Russia and limit the country’s ability to “do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen to be part of the economy. world”. Shortly after its announcement, the price of bitcoin rose significantly.
Over the following 36 hours, the asset’s USD value climbed even higher, topping the $40K price level earlier today. Currently, it trades around $39K, while its market capitalization sits at $743 billion.
It’s safe to say that the increase in its price was also a result of other nations’ approach to the conflict. The EU, Japan and Australia have revealed that they will not send their armies to Ukraine for the time being. Like the United States, these countries have pledged to impose monetary sanctions and new embargoes on Russia.
Altcoins Also on The Green
As it typically happens, in line with Bitcoin’s gains, most alternative coins headed north, too. While the primary cryptocurrency is only 1% up compared to the day before, Ethereum’s USD value increased by more than 6% and is currently trading at $2,750.
Terra (LUNA), Polkadot (DOT) and Ripple (XRP) are among the best performing assets, as they all climbed more than 10%.
Some of the leading tokens by market capitalization, including Binance Coin (3%), Solana (3%), Dogecoin (4%), and Cardano (5%), have also overcome their post-war drops.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization reached $1.77 trillion (3.3% higher than the previous day), meaning it regained around $700 million.
