Market Wrap: Bitcoin, ETH and Stocks Seesaw Following Ukraine Invasion

Bitcoin started the day down as much as 7.5% after news broke that Russia had invaded Ukraine

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Russia’s assault on Ukraine shocked traders, and investors aggressively sold off positions early Thursday
  • Cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether, surged alongside stocks late in the trading day

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine sent cryptocurrency and stock markets into a tailspin early Thursday. But as the full extent of the military assault became clear, investors jumped back in, driving a powerful recovery.

US President Joe Biden, who had repeatedly warned an invasion was imminent, said Russia would bear the consequences of “an assault on the people of Ukraine without provocation, without justification, without necessity.”

Biden imposed a raft of new sanctions to “limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen, to be part of the global economy.” The sanctions were purposely designed “to maximize a long-term impact on Russia and to minimize impact on the United States and our allies,” Biden added.

As traders in the US parsed the news, the S&P 500 plunged, starting the day nearly 2.5% down. Alongside other indices, it recovered later and ended trading up 1.5%. The Nasdaq and Dow likewise first declined before paring losses. The Nasdaq ended the day with a notable 3.44% increase.

[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"]

Bitcoin started the day down as much as 7.5% but managed to end stock trading hours up by 3.5%. Ether was even more volatile, dropping by as much as 10.5% before closing up 2.22%.

[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: Bitcoin’s Initial Plunge on Ukraine Invasion Undermines Status as ‘Digital Gold’

  • Increasing institutional investment in bitcoin tightens its correlation with stock movements
  • Lack of understanding of bitcoin’s fundamental properties may be hindering its adoption as a risk management tool

Story: Aligned Raises $34M To Grow DeFi and Web3 Infrastructure

  • The capital will be used to grow its core products for Ethereum-compatible blockchains like layer-2 networks
  • Aligned’s founder is the former chief strategy officer at ConsenSys

Story: Blockchain Infrastructure Provider InfStones Closes $33M Series B

  • InfStones supports nodes on over 50 chains, including Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Polkadot, Cardano and Chainlink
  • The platform’s customers include Binance, Dune Analytics, Polygon, Circle and Compound

Story: Bitcoin, Risk Assets Falter Even as US GDP Rises

  • Economists warn 2022 will not see the same economic growth as 2021
  • US GDP increased at a 7% annualized rate in the fourth quarter

Going forward

New core and PCE inflation metrics are due out Friday. It's uncertain how the Fed plans to alter interest rates should markets continue falling from the conflict in Eastern Europe.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (2).jpg

Research

Vertex has established itself as a formidable player in the perps DEX landscape. Its strategic approach to chain expansion, focusing on EVM-compatible networks and leveraging incentive programs, has proven largely successful. The reduced time-to-launch for each new chain integration highlights the team's growing expertise and the scalability of their technology. As Vertex continues to expand, it is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing fragmentation of the perpetual DEX market, potentially consolidating liquidity across multiple chains through its Edge technology.

article-image

The challenge of securing our digital world lies in developing conflict-resistant digital infrastructure

article-image

The three actively managed funds target equities in the blockchain and AI realms while seeking to manage volatility

article-image

Plus, Gemini’s trying to get a sense of the state of crypto in a new report

article-image

Hashdex CIO Samir Kerbage says “the global credibility of bitcoin cannot be overstated” in the case of American government buy-in

article-image

The Solana-based creator platform announced its seed round today

article-image

The new Snapshot X protocol uses storage proofs to enable voting without needing to bridge