Photo by Kanchanara
Bitcoin value skyrocketed up to 9% following a weekend of a selloff, expecting that cryptocurrencies may gain traction because of the sanctions against Russia.
The crypto market seems to have regained its progressive value after it saw weeks of decline, with Bitcoin surging 14.5% in the last week to a bit more than $43,000, says TradingView.
The surge can be deciphered partially by Russians fleeing the ruble, which has dropped because of grave US and EU sanctions, according to First Block Capital’s Marc van der Chijs.
Van der Chijis stated last Monday that he expected bitcoin trading to reach $46,000 on a few Russian markets, a $5,000 premium over its US pricing.
“There’s not normally a difference [between the Russian and US price of bitcoin] because there are arbitrage possibilities. That seems to indicate that this surge in bitcoin price is because of Russian buying,” said Van der Chijs.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has led to an upsurge in Bitcoin and stable coin mass in both countries, according to an enterprise market data research firm, Kaiko. Even outlier altcoins and memecoins with better volatility, including Solana’s SOL, Terra’s LUNA, and Dogecoin, climbed higher on Monday.
Russians who are worried about the security of the currency and banking system may have bitcoin as an option to protect their savings.
As countries worldwide unite in placing sanctions over Russia’s attack on Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin established countersanctions. As a result, the Ruble dropped three times its value at one point in offshore trade, its worst fall ever.
iCapital’s chief investment strategist Anastasia Amoroso said, “Many Russian citizens and potentially Ukrainian citizens are cut off from being able to move their rubles, dollars, euros, or anything else.”
“We see some evidence of an increase in bitcoin-ruble volume,” stated Garrick Hileman, research chief at Blockchain.com, warning that it was vague if Monday’s price trajectory could be entirely attributed to such trades.
