Despite the stock market slump, the cryptocurrency market unexpectedly surged on February 28 after the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on the Central Bank of Russia.
According to CNBC, the sanctions announced by the administration of US President Joe Biden will ban Americans from doing business with the Central Bank of Russia and freeze their assets within the US. This immediately caused Bitcoin’s value to increase 17.4% to $43,200, while Ether rose 7.6% to $2,826.54.
The results show that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies appear to be becoming mainstream in the military. Cryptocurrency has never had a chance to show its potential importance in this kind of environment before. According to crypto data analysis firm Kaiko, since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict began, Bitcoin concentrated in both Russian RUB and Ukrainian UAH have reached their highest levels in months.
AscendEx researcher Michael Rinko said the conflict highlights the importance of Bitcoin’s borderless and censorship-resistant properties, but he doesn’t think that’s the reason the cryptocurrency is on the rise. strong. According to him, the rise of cryptocurrencies on February 28 may reflect a rise in interest rates and possible inflation in this uncertain geopolitical context.
Data from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic shows that the Ukrainian government has raised more than $10 million in crypto as of February 27. The total amount of donations made in crypto to the Ukrainian government and NGOs supporting the military is approximately $16.7 million as of the end of February 27.
On February 28, officials from Russia and Ukraine gathered at the Belarusian border to discuss the possibility of ending the fighting between the two sides. Officials from both countries said there could be more talks. Crypto market analyst at Japanese Bitcoin exchange Bitbank Yuya Hasegawa believes that the first round of talks is a key event of the week that could help determine Bitcoin’s direction in the short term.