Bitcoin price surged more than 14% in one day. As the value of the Russian currency plummeted in the followingmath of financial sanctions from Western countries such as the United States, some analysts say that Russians are intensively buying Bitcoin to avoid the effects of sanctions.
According to CoinMarketCap, a global virtual currency market site on the 1st, as of 8:30 p.m. on the same day, the price of each Bitcoin is $43,661. Compared to the $38,272 recorded at the same time the previous day, it was a whopping $5,389 (14.08%) increase in just one day. Ethereum, the ‘second largest by market capitalization’, is also trading at $2,917, up 10.72% from the previous day, and other cryptocurrencies with the highest market cap are also on the rise.
The reason for the sudden surge in bitcoin price is the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the followingmath of financial sanctions. Western countries, including the United States, decided to exclude Russia from the SWIFT payment network when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. The value of the Russian ruble plummeted by nearly 30% when the ‘swift exit’, considered a very high-strength financial sanctions, was discussed.
As a result, it is analyzed that there has been an explosion in demand to convert the ruble into Bitcoin in order to avoid losses due to a fall in the value of the local currency. In addition, Ukrainians, who had difficulty accessing the financial system due to the Russian invasion, also joined the bitcoin purchase process, which also contributed to the price increase. Archyde.com reported on the 1st (local time) that “Bitcoin price is skyrocketing by Russians and Ukrainians trying to store and move money.”
Kim Jeong-hyun reporter [email protected]