Bitcoin’s Rollercoaster and Crypto Volatility Amid War in Ukraine: This Week’s Recap

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 were looking relatively calm for Bitcoin despite the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. At that time, major economic forces such as the EU and the US hadn’t yet enforced any serious sanctions as most of them were still being discussed. All of this changed on Monday when it became clear that a number of Russian banks will be excluded from SWIFT, essentially cutting their operational connections to the western world. The country’s fiat currency – the Ruble – crashed in response, losing a major chunk 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-like price action translated to a volatile market altogether as major altcoins also followed suit, with certain exceptions. Among those that stood out were Luna, charting a massive increase of about 38%, as well as ATOM – up about 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.

All in all, the past week was particularly tumultuous on all fronts. Per the latest reports, Russia and Ukraine are in for a second round of negotiations, so fingers remain crossed that the countries can come to a reasonable solution and put a halt to 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%)

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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 Down on Airdrop Plans, Will Issue NFTs Instead. Earlier this week, Ukraine revealed that it will do an airdrop to those who donated crypto for its effort against Russia. Later, however, the country backed down on this and said that they will be creating 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 – used to be amongst the biggest cryptocurrency critics in the past few years. Nevertheless, in his most recent interview, he admitted that he was wrong about his 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 Offers Russian Soldiers Over $50K Worth of Bitcoin for Each Surrendered Tank (Report). The well-known hacker organization – Anonymous – has supposedly offered Russian troops payments in BTC if they hand over their tanks. They are reportedly prepared to pay over $52,000 in bitcoin for each surrendered combat vehicle.