How the ongoing Geopolitical crisis has put cryptocurrencies in the spotlight
Russia considers accepting payment for oil and gas in Bitcoin from ‘friendly’ countries
Faced with Western sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is considering allowing “friendly” countries like China and Turkey to pay in Bitcoin for its oil and gas exports.
According to sources, the chair of the state’s Duma committee on energy, Pavel Zavalny, indicated during a news conference on March 24, 2022, that Russia was willing to be more flexible with payment alternatives for friendly nations and may allow them to pay in cryptocurrencies or local currencies.
According to the BBC, the move is likely to boost the Russian ruble, which has lost nearly 20% of its value this year. Sanctions imposed by the United States and its European allies devalued the Russian ruble and boosted the cost of living, increasing the expense of importing goods. In the week ending March 18, annual inflation in Russia jumped to 14.5%, the highest level since 2015.
Ukraine Gears Up for NFT Sales as Crypto Donations Exceed $60 Million
Ukraine is launching a website to sell the estimated 300 nonfungible tokens received as donations to aid the country’s war effort. According to Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister of Digital Transformation, one of the NFTs is a donated CryptoPunk, which is expected to fetch around $200,000 at auction. In an interview, he stated that only 5 to 10% of the donated NFTs are valuable. The website, which could go live within a week, will also feature ten NFT collections created by independent companies that have pledged to donate all proceeds to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government has used cryptocurrency donations to raise funding for everything from physical armour to medical supplies. Bornyakov said the country sold around $770,000 of what it calls museum NFTs, which launched last week and depict scenes from the battle. When digital art purchases reach $1 million, the museum NFT sale might end as soon as this week.
Bornyakov added that Ukraine received 32 Bitcoins worth roughly $1.5 million yesterday. To date, it has received almost $60 million in digital coin donations. According to Bornyakov, the Ukrainian government has spent around $41 million on bulletproof jackets, helmets, and medical supplies thus far.
In the meanwhile, a committed donation will be used to assist refugees. Bornyakov added that thanks to a $20 million gift received by the Stellar Development Foundation, roughly 66,000 Ukrainians will receive a digital wallet with $300 in cryptocurrency within a few weeks. Priority will be given to families with children and low-income citizens, and the wallets can be used at MoneyGram outlets, he said.
Weekly Market Update
The price of bitcoin increased by 0.80% to $43,657.17. However, Bitcoin’s price fell from $44,000-$45,000 mark.
Ethereum, the world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading at $3,270, up 1.6%. Solana increased by 6.52%, Cardano increased by 2.0%, Avalanche increased by 6.1%, Polkadot increased by 2.15%, and Stellar increased by 1.6%. Another well-known alternative coin Shiba Inu was up 1.4%, while Dogecoin was up 5.0%.
The majority of cryptocurrencies are in the green, according to market capitalisation. After raising $350 million in investment yesterday, NEAR Protocol outpaced the market by about 16%.
Looking at this weekly low as an opportunity, investors are now filling their bags in safer investments like crypto hedging and remote mining.
