Bitcoin Loses $33.19bn, Slips To $35k As Russia Invades Ukraine

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has lost $33.19bn in market capitalisation as its trading price slipped to $35k in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

News of Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine has sent the crypto market spiralling down, tumbling along with traditional markets.

On Wednesday, BTC had a market cap of $707.39bn, and closed trading at $37,296.57. However, as at 3:04pm on Thursday, BTC’s market cap had fallen to $674.19bn,and was trading at $35,549.04.

Reacting to the tumble in the market on Twitter, Chief Executive Officer, FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, said, “So there are arguments both ways for what should be happening to BTC right now.

“I’m not really sure I would have guessed it would go down based on the fundamentals. But it is down, a lot! Why?”

He added that the Ukraine saga would have financial consequences for European Union neighbours’ financial robustness.

He said, “It makes sense that stocks are down. War is generally bad. What should BTC be doing here? Well, on the one hand, if the world gets shittier, people have less free cash. Basically, selling BTC—along with stocks, etc.—to pay for war.”

Prior to this, traditional financial markets along with crypto markets have been sliding for the past week, although Thursday’s slide has been rapid.

Russia’s invasion has led to a $500bn crypto market sell-off according to CoinTelegraph, with majority of the cryptocurrencies losing crucial support as a result of a three-month low.

Crypto’s market cap has witnessed a 10 per cent decline during early morning Asian trading hours, falling below $1.5tn.