On Thursday, the price of bitcoin fell to $35,100, down from $43,110 a week ago.
Other major cryptocurrencies fell after a number of explosions reportedly sounded in the distance before morning in Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine’s capital cities. In fact, Millions of Ukrainians live in these cities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a special military operation in Ukraine’s Donbass region in the early hours of Thursday morning. At the same time, he told the Ukrainian military to lay down their weapons and return to their homeland.
Putin has appealed to the people to lay down their weapons and return home. Furthermore, all Ukrainian army soldiers who meet this criterion will be allowed to leave the battlefield and return home to their families.
On the other hand, Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, heard sounds like artillery shelling in the distance after Putin finished speaking.
Cyber-attack on Ukraine’s Network
Meanwhile, new harmful software has invaded Ukrainian computer networks, wiping data from attacked devices. Thus according to two cybersecurity companies with a large presence in the region, this is the case.
Symantec BV and ESET LLC has detected Wiper malware in attacks on Ukrainian networks. As per ESET, they placed the hacking malware on hundreds of computers across the country.
Vikram Thakur works for Symantec’s threat intelligence team in the United States as a technical director. According to him, the business has identified a number of categories that the new wiper strain are targeting.
They have also discovered the wiper in Latvia and Lithuania, according to Thakur. Financial institutions and government contractors are among the targets.
Effect on Bitcoin
As a result, Bitcoin’s safe-haven myth has almost completely collapsed. The global financial market went into “risk-aversion mode” as the threat of military conflict and deteriorating US-Russia ties grew. Yuya Hasegawa, a crypto market analyst at Bitbank in Japan conducted this analysis.
The feared invasion affected cryptocurrencies all around the market. Ether fell by 1.5 percent, Cardano’s ADA fell by 4.5 percent, and XRP fell by 7%.
Stocks plummeted on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors sought refuge from the volatility caused by the Ukraine situation.
Before the invasion, Ukraine recently approved the domestic legalization of Bitcoin. On the other hand, some organizations have been accepting cryptocurrency donations to help with military assistance.
Russia Faces Penalties
On Monday, the US unveiled a new round of penalties against Russia. They did this in retaliation for Russia’s recognition of two separatist areas, the Donbass and the Lugansk region.
According to analysts, Russia may turn to cryptocurrency in response to the latest round of US sanctions. Meanwhile, Russian officials are considering approving crypto legislation.
Moreover, tensions between Russia and Ukraine hampered the robust comeback of bitcoin. After the US sanction, Bitcoin’s price has regained some traction.
