Bitcoin Overtakes Russian Ruble Amid Ukraine Crisis

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered day five, cryptocurrencies managed to bag big gains. On Tuesday, March 1, Bitcoin opened trading with a profit of 10.6 percent at $40,226 (roughly Rs. 30 lakh) as per Indian exchange CoinSwitch Kuber. The price uptick for Bitcoin also followed the highest valued cryptocurrency on international exchanges. In fact, Bitcoin is trading at a higher value internationally than in India, which makes for a rare occasion. With gains of over 13 percent, Bitcoin prices are hovering around $43,024 (roughly Rs. 32.4 lakh) on global exchanges including CoinMarketCap and Binance.

The value of Bitcoin has officially surpassed that of the Russian Ruble in the aftermath of several sanctions levied on Russia for waging war against Ukraine, its neighbour.

The Ruble has fallen by around 25 percent and is currently trading below $1 (roughly Rs. 75). Currently RUB 1 is equivalent to $0.0096 (roughly Rs. 0.72). This is a record low for Ruble, which is one of the world's oldest currencies. People are reportedly exchanging Rubles for ‘store-of-value' crypto assets such as Bitcoin.

A majority of other cryptocurrencies are also reaping benefits of this development.

Ether, for instance, opened with 8.64 percent gains, trading at $3,012 (roughly Rs. 2.25 lakh) according to Gadgets 360's crypto price tracker. On international exchanges, ETH is trading at around $2,908 (roughly Rs. 2 lakh) with gains exceeding 11 percent.

Binance Coin, Ripple, Terra, Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot also pumped up with price hikes as large as 20 percent.

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu also managed to climb their way up the price chart ladder after continuous losses over last week.

Talking to Gadgets 360, the research team at Indian exchange CoinDCX urged investors to continue to exercise caution before tucking away money in crypto assets.

“While things may appear to be looking bright, the macro-related challenges plaguing global economies remain. We continue to favour a more cautious allocation in the market, till it becomes more apparent that we are truly out of the woods,” the CoinDCX team said.

Meanwhile, stablecoins such as Tether, USD Coin, and Binance USD saw losses today.

These crypto assets, that are collateralised by the value of an underlying ‘stable' reserve assets like gold or dollar are seeing dips as a result of the price fluctuations that are currently impacting fiat currencies.

The US, UK, European Union (EU), and Canada have announced sanctions, targeting Russia's central bank and national wealth fund.

The US Treasury Department has limited Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to use the country's $630 billion (roughly Rs. 47,44,295 crore) stored in foreign reserves.

The overall market cap of the crypto sector has also spiked overnight.

Currently, the crypto market is valued at $1.9 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,43,93,364 crore). One day ago, the market cap of the crypto sector was $1.7 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,29,35,807 crore), as per CoinMarketCap.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.

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