Cryptocurrencies eased slightly lower in Thursday’s early deals, bucking the general trend of the last week since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.
Citizens from both Ukraine and Russia are reportedly relying on digital currencies to store and save money, with the Ukrainian government using crypto for aid to buy critical supplies.
Sanctions imposed by Western countries over last weekend sent the Russian rouble nosediving and, in turn, shut the Moscow stock exchange, which contributed hugely to the upturn in crypto activity.
Nonetheless, with Bitcoin sliding 0.8% to US$43,529 and other digital currencies following, it seems as if the market is headed for consecutive days of minor losses.
Naeem Aslam, Avatrade chief market analyst said: “Bitcoin prices are holding on to their recent gains, but there is little evidence that bulls are serious or fully committed to pushing the BTC price higher.
“The Russian situation has shaken some beliefs about Bitcoin, such as if it is a safe haven asset.
“If there is a collaborative effort by the US and its allies to shut down Bitcoin, it can happen - Bitcoin represents a massive threat to the US dollar as the global currency, and it is an easy way to avoid sanctions.”
Bitcoin was slightly outpaced in its decline by its closest rival, Ethereum, which slipped 2.2% to US$2,907.
Both digital tokens are between 35% and 40% below all-time highs seen in November, as rising inflation and global interest rate hikes left previously bullish speculators seeking other havens.
Alt-coins Solana, Cardano, and Avalanche fell 2.3%, 3.0%, and 3.6% respectively.
Outside of the top 10, doggy meme-coin Shiba Inu lost 3.3% in value, while Unus Sed Leo and Decentraland both dropped 2.9%.
Overall, 70 of the top 100 were trading in negative territory and reversing recent patterns.
The most notable climbers, however, were Cosmos and VeChain, which advanced 7.2% and 5.0%.