Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose more than 5% on Tuesday, despite a reluctance to take risks to lower blue-chip stocks and the technologies that cryptocurrencies have been linked to for weeks as markets embraced new developments in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Data released this week by Kaiko show that the volume of trade in bitcoin and stable coins such as Tether (USDT-USD) has jumped in the last few days within the Ukrainian and Russian markets, as the ruble fell on world markets to just pennies against the US dollar.
In recent sessions, digital tokens have been seen as risk-sensitive assets rather than an alternative asset class that should be – including bitcoin, which some market participants see as a safe haven.
However, the move to sanction Moscow – including excluding Russia from the global financial system SWIFT – appears to have caused a shift in sentiment in favor of crypto. Some crypto investors have suggested that government-sponsored financial repression reinforces the benefits of the more decentralized digital token sector.
“The Ukraine-Russia situation has caused significant financial turmoil and individuals, companies and, in fact, government agencies – not only in the region but also worldwide – are looking for alternatives to traditional systems,” said Nigel Green of deVere Group, citing growing financial chaos in Russia. which is affecting ordinary citizens.
With the closure of banks, ATM money is running out, threats to personal savings are being taken to pay for war, and SWIFT’s main international payment system is armed, among other factors, with a viable, decentralized, borderless, resilient “The counterfeit monetary system, which cannot be confiscated, has been exposed.”
“And because alternatives, such as crypto, are proving reliable and workable, the reserve status of the dollar could eventually be jeopardized,” he added.
“There are currently many cases of using crypto, which is a relatively quick and effective way to move money across borders,” CoinDesk’s global macro editor and CoinDesk TV presenter Emily Parker told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday.
On Monday, the demand for bitcoin from buyers jumped its price by 17% within 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Standard and Poor’s index ended slightly lower (-0.25%), and the Nasdaq closed slightly higher (+ 0.44%). This was a complete reversal from last week, when BTC’s 60-day correlation with the S&P 500 reached a new all-time high – meaning it has never been so closely linked to equities.
When that happened, Noel Acheson, head of market insight at Genesis Trading, told Yahoo Finance last Wednesday that widespread uncertainty over monetary and geopolitical policy seemed to be causing a sell-off by investors in all risky assets.
According to CoinMetrics, BTC’s 60-day correlation with the S&P 500 is heading south – and analysts like Acheson are paying close attention.
Although it is still too early to call the trend, Acheson and others are seeking to see if this breakthrough signals a deeper directional change or “separation” from capital investment. If this is the case, the current dynamics of bitcoin may signal a major change in the way investors value the asset.
According to Acheson, part of Bitcoin’s performance yesterday may be due to derivative-driven “short squeeze” in addition to other factors of trading momentum. However, some indicators suggest that something deeper may be happening.
Indicators in the chain from data provider Glassnode suggest that the majority of bitcoin purchases in the last few days come from smaller retail investors or buyers who own less than 1 bitcoin. Given the high acceptance of bitcoin by larger investors, this is the first increase in demand from retailers that the asset saw this year.
For more information on cryptocurrency, see:
Dogecoin, what is this? How to buy it
Ethereum: What is it and how do you invest in it?
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