The past week went over the flag of war taking place in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All eyes were on the conflict while global markets and cryptocurrencies were as volatile as ever. Let’s start with Bitcoin.
Last week this time, things seemed relatively calm for Bitcoin despite the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. At that time, the main economic forces such as the EU and the United States had not yet applied serious sanctions because most of them were still under discussion. All that changed on Monday when it became clear that a number of Russian banks would be barred from SWIFT, essentially cutting their operational connections to the Western world. The country’s fiat currency – the ruble – collapsed in response, losing much of its value.
This propped up Bitcoin markets as trading volume soared in both Russia and Ukraine. The cryptocurrency soared on Monday and jumped from around $38K to $44K on Tuesday. During the next few days, the price consolidated around this level, but things started taking a turn for the worse, and BTC is currently trading around $41,000.
The rollercoaster price action resulted in an utterly volatile market as major altcoins also followed suit, with a few exceptions. Among those that stood out were Luna, registering a massive increase of around 38%, as well as ATOM – up around 35%, at the time of this writing.
Elsewhere, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine also brought up the topic of crypto regulations. The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, reiterated the need for firm legislation amid the geopolitical tension.
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All in all, the past week has been particularly tumultuous on all fronts. According to the latest reports, Russia and Ukraine are ready for a second round of negotiations, so fingers remain crossed that the countries can find a reasonable solution and end the war.
Market Data
Market Cap: $1,898B | 24H Vol: $95B BTC Dominance: 41.1%
BTC: $40,840 (+7%) | ETH: $2,687 (+3.8%) | ADA: $0.87 (+2.4%)
This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss
Bill Miller Says Collapse of The Russian Ruble Is Very Bullish for Bitcoin. The well-known legacy investor, fund manager, and philanthropist – Bill Miller – said that the financial sanctions that were imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine could cause the price of BTC to soar.
Ukraine backs off airdrop plans and will issue NFTs instead. Earlier this week, Ukraine revealed that it would airdrop those who donated crypto for its effort against Russia. Later, however, the country backed down and said it would create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) instead.
Federal Reserve Chairman Says Russia-Ukraine Conflict Highlights Need For Crypto Regulation. Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the state of the economy and the future monetary policy. He said that cryptocurrencies need further regulation, especially in light of what’s happening between Russia and Ukraine.
Change of heart: Ken Griffin admits he was wrong about Bitcoin. Ken Griffin – the founder and CEO of Citadel – was one of the biggest critics of cryptocurrency in recent years. Nevertheless, in his last interview, he admitted that he was wrong about his point of view and now sees their merit.
Russia’s Sberbank to Leave the European Market. The biggest bank in Russia – Sberbank – will no longer operate on the European market. This is a direct result of the massive economic sanctions that the EU and many other countries took against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Anonymous is offering Russian soldiers more than $50,000 worth of Bitcoin for each tank returned (report). The well-known hacker organization – Anonymous – reportedly offered Russian troops to pay in BTC if they handed over their tanks. They would be willing to pay over $52,000 in bitcoins for each returned combat vehicle.
