Thursday, February 24th, 2022 | Cryptostotle #7 | By: Brad Lathrop
First of all, let me say that what’s going on in Ukraine is heartbreaking. I can’t imagine the fear and sorrow many people are experiencing in that part of the world right now. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.
Bitcoin’s price has dropped 15.54% over the last seven days, as its value has decreased from around $42,000 to around $35,000 (at the time of this writing).
Many analysts are suggesting the cause is the rapidly escalating conflict in Ukraine. According to a Coindesk article on Wednesday, Bitcoin’s price continues to decrease “as global markets [react] with alarm to the expanding scale of war in Ukraine as missiles continue to reign down on its capital city in Kyiv and its airport was captured by airborne troops.”
Bitcoin isn’t the only digital asset that’s been affected. The crypto currency market as a whole has taken a hit. Ethereum, the highly successful open-source blockchain that offers elite smart contract functionality, is down north of 18% over the last week. To add, other popular cryptocurrencies like Solana and Cardano are down 15%+ and 25%+ respectively in that same time period.
And it’s not just the crypto market; the S&P 500 hit correction territory on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal noted that “…the Russian attack—swiftly condemned by President Biden—heightens the pressure on a global economy already reeling from snarled supply chains and some of the highest inflation in years, with Europe likely to bear the brunt of the economic impact.”
In short, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is taking a toll on most financial markets. It is known that in times of uncertainty, investors tend to allocate funds to less risky and speculative assets, like bonds. As a result, investment opportunities seen as “risky” tend to be negatively affected, but not always.
It will be very interesting to watch how the markets react over the next several weeks. At the time of this writing, Bitcoin’s price sits at $35,636.
