Market Wrap: Cryptos Crumble After Russia Bombs Major Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant

BTC, ETH and equity markets saw a sharp sell-off after Russia bombed Europe’s largest power plant

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Russia aggressively shelled, then seized, a major nuclear power plant in Ukraine, showing disregard for a potential meltdown of the plant
  • Bitcoin, ether and all major indices fell, while gold and oil continued their march higher

Equity and cryptocurrency markets fell Friday after Russian shelling sparked a fire at Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia.

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear plant in Europe and is responsible for one-fifth of Ukraine's power.

The fire was put out, but workers are now operating the plant at gunpoint, according to Telegram messages from Petro Kotin, the head of the state-owned nuclear power site.

Russian forces "entered the territory of the nuclear power plant, took control of the personnel and management of the nuclear power plant," Kotin said.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky released a video regarding the attacks, reminding everyone of the infamous Chernobyl meltdown.

"I address all Ukrainians, all Europeans, everyone who knows the word 'Chernobyl,' everyone who knows how many victims that explosion of a nuclear plant brought," Zelensky said. "Russia wants to relive it and is already doing it."

Markets fell sharply as the news spread, with the S&P 500 declining 0.81% and the Nasdaq and Dow dropping 1.92% and 1.09%, respectively.

[stock_market_widget type="accordion" template="chart" color="#5B35D5" assets="^GSPC,^IXIC,^DJI" start_expanded="true" display_currency_symbol="false" api="yf" chart_range="1mo" chart_interval="1d"]

Crypto markets took an even worse hit, with bitcoin plummeting over 7% and ether falling closer to 8% by the end of stock trading hours.

[stock_market_widget type="accordion" template="chart" color="#5B35D5" assets="BTC-USD,ETH-USD" start_expanded="true" display_currency_symbol="true" api="yf" chart_range="1mo" chart_interval="1d"]

Top stories

Story: CVS Files for NFT-related Trademarks in the Metaverse

  • “This signals that brands are paying attention [to the metaverse], meaning they are staking their claim similar to how people sit on domain names,” Jenna Pilgrim, a blockchain startup exec, told Blockworks
  • CVS mentioned NFTs and blockchain technology in its application

Story: Crypto Is a ‘Lifeline’ for Russian Citizens, Coinbase CEO Says

  • More users are turning to crypto in Russia as the war in Ukraine intensifies, data show
  • The notion that crypto is being used to avoid sanctions is unfounded, the CEO said

Story: Funding Roundup: $1.34B Invested in Crypto Companies and Funds This Week

  • The total money invested this week came from over 20 deals and funds, PitchBook data showed
  • Prominent venture capital firm a16z invested $70 million into DeFi staking platform Lido on Thursday

Story: Latest in Crypto Hiring: Ledger Enterprise Has New Leader

  • Another former Block executive joined crypto payment company MobileCoin
  • An ex-Citi executive was tapped to lead the growth of the Provenance Blockchain

Going forward

Bitcoin briefly aligned with gold and other safe havens this week as the Ukraine crisis grew, and sanctions on Russia pushed its population to shed rubles for other assets. But the latter half of the week proved otherwise, with bitcoin tumbling along with equities and safe havens like gold continuing to push higher.

Markets are likely to remain highly volatile as the mid-March Fed meeting approaches and conflict in Ukraine builds.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

Decentralized money was a “very unpopular goal” when concepts were proposed in the ’90s, said Nick Szabo

article-image

Cove aims to deliver “risk-adjusted yield” through curated DeFi vaults

article-image

The best capital markets are open to the most people — and crypto capital markets are open to everyone

article-image

Post-conference musings on Firedancer, Kraken, Solana Mobile and Trump

article-image

Executives expect others to follow SharpLink Gaming’s lead in purchasing an asset that has surged this past month

article-image

After a weekend of tariff policy shifts, investors appear confident that trade deals are underway