Bitcoin’s price has plummeted at the end of February as the crypto market faces a ‘storm’
(Getty Images)
Geopolitical tensions appear to have killed off a strong bitcoin recovery, which saw gains of more than $10,000 for the cryptocurrency in the first half of February.
The price of BTC managed to return above $37,000 on Wednesday, though it did little to relieve the 15 per cent drop it has seen over the last seven days.
The downtrend was mirrored by other leading cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Ripple (XRP) and Cardano (ADA), which have all fallen by between 15-20 per cent since mid February.
The losses saw the overall crypto market shrink by around $350 million in just over a week, with analysts warning that continued tensions between Ukraine and Russia could see bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “spiral”.
You can follow all the latest bitcoin price news and crypto market developments in our live blog below.
We will be posting indepth market analysis from leading figures within the industry, as well as expert price predictions for 2022 and beyond.
The crypto market is still very much down: it has dropped more than 10 per cent over all, losing more than $100 billion. That is the case across cryptocurrencies: bitcoin is performing badly, having lost almost 9 per cent, but many more are doing far worse, with ethereum down 12 per cent.
Andrew Griffin24 February 2022 13:40
Bitcoin price sinks below $37,000
Bitcoin has dropped by over 3 per cent in the last 24 hours and is currently priced close to $36,500 amid rising tensions in Ukraine.
The leading cryptocurrency has sunk in value by over 17 per cent in the last week.
Other top cryptocurrencies including ethereum and solana have also sunk by over 3 per cent in the last day and by nearly 20 per cent in the last week.
Memecoins dogecoin and its spinoff shiba inu have also dropped in value by 2 to 4 per cent in the last 24 hours, and by about 20 per cent in the last 7 days.
The overall crypto market has dropped by about 1.5 per cent in the last day and is currently valued at $1.68 trillion.
Vishwam Sankaran24 February 2022 03:04
Bitcoin price hangs on Russia
A lot has been said already about bitcoin’s latest price crash being related to tensions between Russia and Ukraine, but Russian regulators may actually help turn the trend around.
Recent developments by finance decision makers in the country suggest rumours that Russia was ready to ban cryptocurrency last year are now long forgotten, as moves are made to officially recognise the cryptocurrency.
Here’s Will Hamilton, head of trading and research at Trovio Capital Management, with more:
Russia’s Ministry of Finance is pushing forward with its plan to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country and has introduced a bill to parliament. The announcement highlights the policy split with the Bank of Russia, which currently opposes regulation and aims to have digital asset trading and mining banned, due to threats posed to the Digital Rubel the bank is currently developing.
The legislation posed by the Ministry of Finance aims to create legal markets for digital assets, but not implement them as a widespread method of transaction.
Will Hamilton, Trovio
Anthony Cuthbertson23 February 2022 19:36
Bitcoin, ether rise, cardano surges
Bitcoin has grown by about 2 per cent in the last 24 hours, but the leading cryptocurrency is still below the $38,000 mark – down by nearly 15 per cent since last week.
Ethereum has also grown in the last day by over a per cent, but it is also down by 17 per cent compared to its value 7 days earlier.
Other altcoins including solana and cardano have surged by 4 to 6 per cent in the last day, but are still down compared to their values a week earlier.
Memecoins dogecoin and its spinoff shiba inu have also grown by 1 to 3 per cent in the last 24 hours.
The overall crypto market has grown by about 2 per cent in the last day and is valued at $1.71 trillion.
Vishwam Sankaran23 February 2022 03:04
More crypto market reaction to Ukraine and Russia events
We’ve heard from Nicholas Cawley, a strategist at finance portal DailyFX, who has more to say about Ukraine’s attitude towards bitcoin and what this might mean for the broader crypto market.
The Russia-Ukraine crisis is affecting all risk markets at the moment, not just bitcoin. The news flow from the region is seemingly biased from both sides while the constant swings in good news/bad news make it difficult to value and trade the market at the current time. Until this changes it is difficult to see any reason to trade bitcoin from either the long or the short side.
From a technical perspective, the break below support at $39.6k has left bitcoin vulnerable to further losses. This negative outlook is also backed up by the market’s take on recent good news. Recent news that Ukraine is in the process of legalizing bitcoin, the Fidelity launch of a bitcoin ETP in Europe, and stories that BlackRock, the $10 trillion asset manager is preparing to offer cryptocurrency support for its customers, would normally give the space a push higher but this hasn’t been the case.
It looks like bitcoin is going to continue to drift sideways with a marginal bias to the downside until the conflict in Eastern Europe is resolved.
Nicholas Cawley, DailyFX
Anthony Cuthbertson22 February 2022 13:07
Ukraine Russia tension sends ‘crypto spiralling’
Crypto market analysts have warned that the market could continue to see losses if tensions between Ukraine and Russia don’t ease relatively soon.
“Geopolitical tension sent crypto spiralling last week, killing off a nascent recover for bitcoin and ether prices, among others,” says Simon Peters, an analyst at the online trading platform eToro.
The crypto market typically doesn’t perform well during times of geopolitical uncertainty, with traders and investors tending to move their wealth into safer assets. Added to the mix is recent moves by both Russian and Ukraine to make their stance towards bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies more official by either regulating or legalising them. A negative approach could accelerate losses, while positive steps could actually have a longer term benefit on the market.
Anthony Cuthbertson22 February 2022 12:44
Bitcoin, altcoin prices tank
Bitcoin has dropped in value by more than 5 per cent in the last day, and its price has inched closer to the $37,000 mark.
The leading cryptocurrency has dropped in value by nearly 15 per cent in the last week amid rising tensions in the Ukraine border.
Ethereum has also tanked at a similar rate in the last 24 hours and is currently valued at around $2,600.
Other leading cryptocurrencies, including cardano and solana have also tanked by about 12 per cent in the last day, while memecoins dogecoin and shiba inu have dropped in value by 7 to 10 per cent during the period.
The overall cryptomarket is down by 6 per cent in the last day and is valued at $1.67 trillion.
The chart looks mostly red with no signs of recovery yet.
Vishwam Sankaran22 February 2022 02:59
Bitcoin, altcoin prices drop over the weekend
Bitcoin has dropped by about 2 per cent in the last 24 hours and is currently priced closer to $39,000 amid continued tensions at the Ukraine border.
The leading cryptocurrency has dropped in value by over 6 per cent in the last week.
Ethereum has dropped in value by over 3 per cent since early Saturday and is down by nearly 5 per cent in the last 7 days.
Other leading cryptocurrencies like cardano and avalanche are also down by 2 to 4 per cent in the last day. However, Solana has soared by over 5 per cent during this period.
Memecoins dogecoin and its spinoff shiba inu remain nearly unchanged compared to their prices 24 hours earlier.
The overall crypto market is down by over a per cent in the last day and is valued at $1.78 trillion.
Vishwam Sankaran21 February 2022 02:51
Bitcoin price drops below $40,000
Bitcoin is back below $40,000 for the first time since early February, following a 10 per cent price drop since yesterday.
(CoinMarketCap)
Other leading cryptocurrencies are also suffering significant losses, with Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) all falling by between 4-6 per cent over the last 24 hours.
The total losses have wiped close to $100 billion from the overall crypto market cap, according to CoinMarketCap.
Anthony Cuthbertson18 February 2022 16:00
Bitcoin, ether, dogecoin prices fall
Bitcoin price has dropped by over 7 per cent in the last 24 hours, and is valued at around $40,500 as Ukraine tensions rise.
The leading cryptocurrency is down by over 5 per cent compared to its price last week, and is down by 15 per cent compared to its year-to-date high of over $47,000 set on 2 January.
Ethereum is also down by over 7 per cent in the last day and is valued at close to $2,900.
Other leading cryptocurrencies, including cardano, solana, and polkadot are also down by over 5 to 7 per cent in the last day with the overall crypto market falling by over 6 per cent during this period.
Memecoins dogecoin and its spinoff shiba inu are also down by over 5 to 7 per cent in the last 24 hours.
Vishwam Sankaran18 February 2022 02:51