Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, XRP, and Shiba Inu Popped Today
At approximately 10 p.m. ET Wednesday night, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine. At first, cryptocurrencies plunged in response to the news -- but now, they've bounced back. As of 10:30 a.m. ET Friday, here's how prices had shifted over the prior 24 hours for several of the biggest names in cryptocurrency:
Here's what seems to be going on: On Thursday, the big concern -- strictly from an investor perspective -- was that Western nations would levy crippling sanctions on Russia to punish it for invading its neighbor, and that this would be bad news for a broad range of investments. On Friday, the feeling is that Western nations will levy crippling sanctions on Russia to punish it for invading its neighbor ... and that this is good news for cryptocurrencies.
As CoinDesk.com explains, "further deterioration in the financial situation could benefit [cryptocurrencies] as a means of capital savings for investors from Ukraine, Russia, and some nearby countries." High-net-worth Russians in particular have been targeted for financial sanctions by Britain, the European Union, and the United States. Accounts of major Russian banks such as Sberbank and VTB Bank have been frozen, and there's serious talk about entirely cutting Russia off from the SWIFT financial system that facilitates cross-border payments, money transfers, and asset transfers.
Source Fool.com
