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Bitcoin and Ether decline after Russia launches ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine

Prices of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) suffered significant losses Russia launched missile attacks around several areas in Ukraine

Image by: Wikimedia Commons

Thu, 24 Feb 2022, 14:11 pm UTC

The crypto market, along with traditional markets, tumbled as Russia launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine. The prices of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) suffered significant losses after reports on Russia’s operation surfaced.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded at $35,360.58 based on Coindesk data. BTC’s price declined by $3,678.90 from its previous price of $39,039.47 24 hours earlier.

Similarly, Ether fell and traded at $2,386.78 at the time of writing. ETH previously traded at $2,731.81, which means that the crypto’s price declined by $345.03 in the past 24 hours.

Russia’s move also rattled overseas stock markets. For instance, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined by 3.5 percent while the Nikkei plunged to a 15-month low, according to Cointelegraph.

Meanwhile, crypto investors are still gauging what impact the recent geopolitical event might have on Bitcoin and the crypto market as a whole. Market participants are still unsure and are divided on how the digital assets markets could respond to the development.

“So there are arguments both ways for what should be happening to BTC right now,” FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said. “I’m not really sure I would have guessed it would go down based on the fundamentals. But it is down, a lot! Why?”

The problem mainly lies in the fact that there is no precedence on such geopolitical events’ effect on the crypto market. “Well, let’s say there are 2 types of people in the world: fundamental investors and algorithm followers,” he added. “Fundamental investors look at the situation and are uncertain which direction BTC/USD should move. Algorithm followers consult the data. Historically, what’s the trend?”

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin could only express his dismay over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to carry out missile attacks around several areas of the country. “Very upset by Putin’s decision to abandon the possibility of a peaceful solution to the dispute with Ukraine and go to war instead,” he tweeted. “This is a crime against the Ukrainian and Russian people. I want to wish everyone security, although I know that there will be no security. Glory to Ukraine.”

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