A Russian invasion of Ukraine was presented as an imminent fact by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and other high officials this Thursday, February 17, which precipitated a fall in the main actions of the US stock market and the market of the cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin posted an 8% decline this Thursday and is hovering above $40,000.
The surprise appearance at the United Nations this Thursday by the United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and the declarations of President Biden on a potential incursion “in a matter of days”, they set off all the alarms among investors and precipitated the markets to the downside.
Previously, bitcoin had posted a rally earlier this week and was attempting to break the $45,000 resistance. With this push, the cryptocurrency market managed to exceed USD 2 trillion in capitalization, as reported by CriptoNoticias, on Tuesday the 15th. The fluctuation above USD 44,000 was maintained for two days, until the abrupt fall last Thursday.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $40,330, bringing the cryptocurrency market capitalization down from $2 trillion to $1.84 trillion, a drop of 8%.
Bitcoin price is down 41.6% from its all-time high November 2021, while so far this year the decline is 15.46%. Given the downward trend, investors turn to bitcoin derivatives, as reported by CriptoNoticias, especially due to the negative effects that the war in Eastern Europe has had on the markets.