The crypto market crashed on Friday (18/2), with the price of Bitcoin
plunging to $40,000. The situation in Ukraine is heating up, making
investors stay away from high-risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
Referring to CoinMarketCap data on Friday (18/2) at 09.30 WIB, the price of
Bitcoin was at US$ 40,809.12 or down 7.18% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum
price fell 7.04% to US$2,909.09.
Meanwhile, the price of meme-based cryptocurrencies Dogecoin and Shiba Inu
fell 5.42% to US$ 0.1411 and 7.08%, respectively, to US$ 0.00002901 compared
to the previous 24 hours.
The decline in the price of cryptocurrencies coincided with a red US stock
market, especially the more volatile technology stocks. The tech-heavy
Nasdaq fell nearly 3%.
Reports of shootings in Eastern Ukraine and accusations that Russia
orchestrated a false flag operation or intent to blame Ukraine for starting
the conflict have raised tensions.
“And causing more investors to seek less risky positions,” Susannah
Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, told
CoinDesk.
The US Producer Price Index (PPI) in January 2022 which rose to 9.8% and
ongoing inflation concerns also made investors return to gold, which had
broken through US $ 1,900, and other low-risk assets.
"The price of gold, which is seen as a safe haven in times of crisis, has
risen to its highest level in eight months," Streeter said.