In the midst of the Ukrainian crisis, when there is now open talk of war and the Russian offensive has begun, the financial markets are falling. This is also the case for cryptocurrencies, whose capitalization is strongly impacted.
The initiation of Russian military action in Ukraine sent cryptocurrency prices plummeting, with market capitalization plunging 8% in just a few hours. This represents a (virtual) loss of around 200 billion dollars, knowing that the decline continues. CoinGecko estimates that the crypto market fell around $1.64 trillion, its lowest level since August 2021.
Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, was one of the most affected stocks, losing 8.6% and falling to its lowest level since January. Its value is even 50% lower than its record recorded in November 2021. Ethereum was also hit hard, at minus 10%, its lowest level in the last half-year. Ripple, Solana, Cardano and Binance Coin all suffered equally, losing between 9 and 13%.
Of course, the cryptocurrency market is not the only one impacted by the Ukrainian conflict. The stock market, in general, is very exposed to the downside. So much so that the main global stock market indices are falling, such as the CAC 40, which is at -6.37% at the time of writing. Conversely, the price of gold is one of the few to soar, on the way to reaching a historic record at over €1,760 an ounce.