Bitcoin and other major Cryptocurrencies in red, while a major crypto trading platform blocks thousands of Russia-linked wallets

Bitcoin’s price on Friday fell below $40,000 as most other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, were trading in the red, according to Coindesk. The world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was down by over three per cent to $38,593.50 while Ethereum was down by over 2.5 per cent at $2,548.86. Other top altcoins by market capitalization also fell in the red zone with major altcoins like XRP down by 0.68 per cent and Solana down by 2.82 per cent.

Crypto-currency trading platform Coinbase has blocked 25,000 wallet addresses related to Russia. The platform said the addresses were related to Russian individuals or entities it believed to have engaged in illicit activity. The addresses were blocked over fears crypto-currency could be used to evade sanctions. Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, announced on a company blog. He outlined how the crypto exchange complied with new rules imposed by Russia invaded Ukraine. It means no access for sanctioned individuals and includes “sophisticated blockchain analytics” to identify accounts indirectly linked to banned users.

This interference from the major trading platform has caused mass panic among crypto investors all over the world, who are now worried if their money is safe with major trading platforms like Coinbase, Binance, etc. This mass panic has forced retail investors to wonder if their money is safer in a private wallet, where there is no interference from government or organisations, where they have complete control over their investments.

Investors have also sought out alternative investment options in crypto, like an investment in mining which is considered to be relatively safer than traditional trading, especially after the introduction of remote mining.