Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters). – Since Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, the market has risen significantly. It was fueled by those in these countries who want to move and store money anonymously in decentralized crypto.

The Russian invasion of Bitcoin caused Bitcoin trading to go into hyperdrive. According to CryptoCompare, daily volumes rose by 259% over a week earlier to 1.3 Billion Rupee ($13.1 Million).

In Ukraine, however, cryptocurrency exchange Kuna witnessed its daily trading volume rise to over 150 million hryvnias ($5million)

Radkl is a digital asset investor firm. Bea O’Carroll was the managing director of Radkl. She said that there has been a rise in use bitcoin to transact value.

It is interesting, she said that having a currency not under the control of the government and that does not get affected by emergency acts is “basically.” Perhaps this is the way Russia’s value gets moved. On the other hand, it was also possible to say that ‘this will be how Ukrainians get their value’.

Five days have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine, February 24, and bitcoin has increased 13%. The U.S. Stock Index is around 2% higher. Traditional safety plays gold are now flat.

Coinglass data revealed that about $300,000,000 worth of bitcoin short positions were lost on the day, and QCP Capital in Singapore reported that “a substantial portion” had been taken out of leveraged long positions.

In addition to being anonymous, many crypto transactions and holdings can also be stored in decentralized platforms accessible anywhere.

ENTER THE OIL GROUPS

“Bitcoin could be a potential safe haven for Russian oligarchs avoiding sanctions as there will be no censor on the Bitcoin network and on cryptocurrency transactions,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

The potential for cryptocurrencies to act as powerful stores of value in a significant portion of holdings which don’t necessarily need liquidity is great.

For crypto enthusiasts, however, this could prove to be a double-edged weapon.

It could result in regulations by NATO countries prohibiting crypto use, but on the other side, there might be wider adoption in areas with geopolitical turmoil,” stated Katie Talati (head of research, digital asset manager Arca).

Ukraine also saw an opportunity in anonymity and the reach of cryptoworld’s cryptocurrency world. Mykhailo Fedorov (Vice-Prime Minister) tweeted bitcoin addresses and ether with a plea: “Stand by the people of Ukraine. Accepting cryptocurrency donations

According to Elliptic, the blockchain analysis company Elliptic reports that Fedorov’s government raised more than $22 million in cryptocurrency after appeals.

Bitcoin may soon be the preferred currency in geopolitical areas, but market players warn that different opinions exist about its potential to become a more general “safe-haven”, a type of digital gold, and whether it is possible for investors to use as an alternative form of money.

Zach Friedman co-founded crypto broker Secure Digital Markets. His post-invasion gains help to establish the narrative surrounding bitcoin’s “store of value” during difficult times.

STABLECOINS ON FIRE

Other: Money is moving into “stablecoins”, which can be pegged to assets like the U.S. dollars.

According to CoinMarketCap, steadycoin trades accounted for more than 83% of total cryptocurrency market trading volume over the 24-hour period ending Friday.

USD was the biggest stablecoin and saw its market capitalization reach an all-time high of almost $80 billion. Meanwhile, PAX Gold, which is gold-backed, increased its market cap by nearly $100 million in less than two days.

($1 = 98.9450 roubles; $1 = 29.7000 hryvnias)