Is Bitcoin Headed For a Shaky Weekend Amid Russia-Ukraine Tension?

According to a recent intelligence report, US President Joe Biden has called on all American citizens remaining in Ukraine to leave the country immediately, citing increased threats of Russian military action.

So, amid growing fears of a Ukraine-Russia conflict, what will be the fate of digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and top altcoins? 

Another International Conflict?

The PBS NewsHour chief Washington correspondent Geoff Bennett reported that the US believes Putin has decided to invade Ukraine and communicated those plans to the Russian military.

He further revealed that of the three officials who spoke, two admin officials said that they expect the invasion to begin next week—echoing what Secretary of State Blinken has said.

NEWS: The U.S. believes Putin has decided to invade Ukraine and communicated those plans to the Russian military, three officials tell @nickschifrin. Two admin officials say they expect the invasion to begin next week—echoing what Secretary of State Blinken has said.

— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) February 11, 2022

Here further highlighted that:

“Defense officials anticipate a horrific, bloody campaign that begins with two days of bombardment and electronic warfare, followed by an invasion, with the possible goal of regime change.”

In addition to that, Bennett revealed that the North Atlantic Council had been briefed on this new intel received in the late hours of February 11.

For now, President Biden has said that he would not send troops to rescue Americans if Moscow invades Ukraine. In addition to that, several other countries, including the UK, have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine.

On the other hand, Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite massing more than 100,000 troops near the border.

However, recently, the Russian ships finally arrived in the Black sea and it has begun massive military drills with neighboring Belarus, while Ukraine has accused Russia of blocking its access to the sea.

Notably, in the last week of January, Bitcoin tumbled almost 9% to its lowest in six months amid fears of a Russian attack on Ukraine. On January 24 the market also saw the fall of riskier assets worldwide which extended the sell-offs. So, what to expect from BTC going forward?

Bitcoin and Altcoins Rebound Towards Support

At press time, with the news of the Russia-Ukraine tensions gaining tension after Bennett’s revelation just an hour back, the effect of the same could already be seen on crypto assets.

Notably, Bitcoin was back to the $42K range trading at $42,597.65 noting 4.11% daily losses at press time. Furthermore, the global crypto market cap came down to $1.93 trillion noting, a 4.00% decrease over the last day. 

Looking at altcoins, Ethereum was back below $3K as ETH changed hands at $2,975.30 noting a 4.76% daily fall in price. That said, Cardano, Solana, Terra, and Avalanche were down 5%, 9.2%, 2%, and 8.2% respectively. Even the top meme token, Dogecoin was down 4.42% trading at  $0.147 at press time. 

As a wave of sell-offs took over the market, it seemed like Bitcoin and the larger crypto market could have a shaky weekend ahead.