Bitcoin and Ether Plunge as Russia Attacks Ukraine

[ad_1]

Text size

Dreamstime.com

Bitcoin fell to a one-month low as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency, has plunged 8% over the past 24 hours to $35,556, according to CoinDesk, after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine, with Russian troops and tanks entering Ukraine and airstrikes pounding Ukraines capital and other cities. Bitcoin fell to as low as $34,338, the lowest levels since late January. Ether, the second-largest digital currency, dropped 12% to $2,381.

Bitcoin and Ether remain well off their all-time highs of $68,990 and $4,865, respectively, that were reached in early November.

Gold spiked to $1,950, its highest since the end of 2020. Bitcoin plunged 5% to $35k think we are finding out which of the two is the real haven, said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst forMarkets.com.

Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in comments before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine that cryptos remain the ultimate risky asset and that escalation of the Russia-Ukraine tensions will likely keep the volatility elevated with swings to 20% in either direction.

Bitcoin also has slumped this year it has fallen 23.3% in 2022 on the prospect of higher US interest rates. Moya noted how Bitcoin has been battered on bets over tightening from the Federal Reserve but most of those risks are getting close to being priced in.

This crypto winter has been brutal but it might end once we get past that first Fed rate hike.

The US centra bank is expected to start raising rates next month.

Write to Joe Woelfel at [email protected]

[ad_2]