As soon as Russia declared war on Ukraine, most cryptocurrencies plummeted. On Thursday, bitcoin hit a one-month low, as ether and other cryptocurrencies also plummeted. The dip in cryptocurrency prices coincides with a drop in equity markets following Russia’s military invasion on Ukraine. Two journalists from Danish media in Ukraine said that since cash is a scarce commodity, car transactions had to be replaced by crypto. They paid 0.059 bitcoin to buy a Mazda3 car.
FlexPool mining pool said it would cancel service to all Russian IPs and payout outstanding balances, apologizing to Russian miners for this. Flexpool said if this situation is resolved peacefully it will gladly welcome all Russian miners back and use their personal funds to make amends. In retaliation for the Russian invasion on Ukraine, the US and Europe are set to cut off Russia. Banks from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) which would create would further introduce obstacles on the path of Russian banks to financial markets on a global scale.
Russia’s ruble crashes early morning by 40% against the US dollar. Russia bans foreign trading hours. The sanctions put on $640 billion of Russia is causing a strain on the national currency. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced actions. The actions were announced to strengthen the Department of Financial Services’ enforcement of sanctions against Russia. It includes expediting additional blockchain analytics technology procurement.
At a dark time when the Ukrainian citizens have gotten a cold shoulder as their bank accounts are being frozen, they find solace in the world of crypto. The Ukrainian Central Bank puts a cap on cash withdrawals and e-money transfers in the light of the Russian invasion. The cryptocurrencies have come to the rescue as while Bitcoin (BTC) saw a surge in its trading volumes, Ukrainian cryptocurrency Kuna has almost tripled to more than $4 million by February 24.
While all this Russia and Ukraine war was going on, eBay CEO Jamie Iannone in an interview stated that the company may soon embrace crypto payments. Because of the growing popularity and demand for cryptocurrencies, various online sites have begun to provide crypto payment options. eBay intends to do the same with its concentration on Millennial and Gen Z clients.
Israel has seized digital wallets reportedly used by Hamas, shutting down the terror group’s finance channels. Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved the confiscation of 30 bitcoin wallets from 12 accounts owned by a Gaza-based exchange company that the ministry has now designated as a terror group.
Lugano has forged cooperation with stablecoin issuer Tether to establish bitcoin, Tether, and Lugano’s own LVGA Points cryptocurrency as essentially legal tender in the city, with the goal of becoming Europe’s Bitcoin capital. The plan also calls for the establishment of two investment funds. ASA has banned Floki Inu’s advertisement, “Missed Doge? Get Floki”. The investigation against this ad has been ongoing since November last year. Floki Inu’s advertising team confirmed that the ad is within legal boundaries but with no luck.
After the financial regulators, it is now time for insurance companies to enter the world of Metaverse. U.S. insurance broker and wealth management firm IMA Financial Group is ready to launch one of its research and development sectors in Decentraland.
