Bitcoin prices plummeted, with Ethereum and other altcoins following suit as Russia announced a military campaign in Ukraine earlier today.
Risk assets have fallen in today’s trading session as investors run to safe-haven assets following confirmation of Russian forces invading Ukraine’s Kyiv region.
Russian armed forces attacked Ukraine’s military infrastructure and border guard units, raising tensions between the two countries to new heights. The entire crypto market reacted with big price drops, which was somewhat predicted.
Bitcoin fell from over $39,000 to below $34,500 in less than 24 hours. Major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Binance Coin, Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, and a slew of other cryptocurrencies have all had double-digit price drops.
Almost $160k traders have been liquidated in the last 24 hours, bringing the total amount liquidated to over $500 million.
The market capitalization of cryptocurrency has dropped below $1.6 trillion, with around $200 billion knocked off the market, but it has begun to recover again.
Despite Western authorities’ best efforts to stop the invasion by slapping sanctions on Russia, Putin’s decision to go ahead with the attack has cast a pall over the cryptosphere.
As the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated earlier today, “Putin has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” reports of explosions in multiple Ukrainian military zones started to emerge.
The strikes were conducted out against military headquarters, airfields, and stores in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv, according to the leader.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said earlier today that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a crime and that he is “upset” by Putin’s decision to “abandon the chance of a diplomatic solution.”
Bitcoin’s price is $36,161.13 USD at the time of writing, with a 24-hour trading volume of $36,947,614,175 USD. In the last 24 hours, the most prominent cryptocurrency has lost 6.12% of its value.