The country is close to approving trials of the central bank digital currency in a number of cities and regions; bitcoin and ether drop as risk-on appetite fades.
Prices: Bitcoin and other major cryptos decline as Russia escalates its attack.
Technician’s take: Intraday charts show downside exhaustion, which could encourage short-term BTC buying.
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Prices
Bitcoin (BTC): $42,528 -3.2%
Ether (ETH): $2,839 -3.8%
Top Gainers
| Asset | Ticker | Returns | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmos | ATOM | +4.8% | Smart Contract Platform |
| Internet Computer | ICP | +3.0% | Computing |
| Ethereum Classic | ETC | +2.2% | Smart Contract Platform |
Top Losers
| Asset | Ticker | Returns | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solana | SOL | −5.3% | Smart Contract Platform |
| Ethereum | ETH | −4.1% | Smart Contract Platform |
| Cardano | ADA | −3.7% | Smart Contract Platform |
Bitcoin and other major cryptos declined on a dark Thursday in Ukraine.
At the time of publication, bitcoin was trading at about $42,500, down more than 3% over the previous 24 hours. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was changing hands at about $2,800, down roughly 4% over the same period. Most other cryptos in the CoinDesk top 20 by market cap were in the red.
Russian forces captured Kherson, a port city of about $300,000 in the southern part of Ukraine and ship-building hub, and continued to grab huge swathes of the region with its access to the Black Sea. Rocket fire and cluster bombs barraged Ukraine’s largest cities and more than one million people fled the now war-torn country, including foreign students and workers from Asia.