The armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia is having an effect on crypto. Transactions in Ukraine turned to cryptocurrencies, and even donations came in the form of Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and other cryptocurrencies.
This happened because the Ukrainian central bank restricted transactions using fiat during the conflict.
According to the bank statement, access to foreign exchange and cash withdrawals has been restricted. These restrictions have had a negative impact on life in Ukraine, prompting some citizens to switch to using cryptocurrencies.
The switch sent Kuna, the local crypto, soaring. Kuna CEO, Michael Chobanian also believes that the banking system and fiat are currently collapsing. “The majority of people have no other choice but crypto,” Chobanian said.
Interestingly, the transition not only occurred for day-to-day transactions but also came in the form of donations to Ukrainian NGOs. According to a local fundraising platform, Ukraine has received as much as $7 million in cryptocurrencies since the start of the week of the war.
The surge in donations came thanks to the Ukrainian prime minister sharing Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses via his Twitter profile. The founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, had thought that the Twitter account had been hacked but a state spokesman confirmed that the account was secure.
The blockchain analytics firm said, “crypto assets such as Bitcoin have also emerged as an important alternative funding method.. crypto allows for fast cross-border donations that might otherwise be blocked if passing through financial institutions to these groups.”
FTX CEO, Bankman-Fried, sees two opportunities for Bitcoin based on how ordinary traders trade.
Through Twitter, Bankman-Fried explained first, Bitcoin can be dominated by investors who focus on fundamentals – where they will still buy Bitcoin even in the midst of panic.
Second, on the contrary, where investors don't really believe in Bitcoin's performance – they believe it is a risky asset that is correlated with the stock market so they rush to sell Bitcoin in the middle of a war.
From that analysis, this crypto executive assumes that Bitcoin is in a new regime in the last year and a half, even though war always has a negative impact, especially for conflicting camps.
In line with FTX CEO, Crypto Quant CEO Ki-Young Ju argues that institutional investors buy Bitcoin directly from the market and have no intention of selling it. While investors who use algorithmic bots are like dealing with stocks with crypto technology.
