The “real” daily Bitcoin (BTC) volume spiked to levels not seen for three months amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the latest weekly update report from blockchain analytics firm Arcane Research, real daily BTC trading volume surged above the $10 billion last Thursday (Feb. 24, the first day of the invasion), marking the highest daily volume recorded since Dec. 4. The firm cited “new crypto narratives” that have risen to the forefront amongst the ongoing crisis, such as crypto fundraising in Ukraine, along with demand increasing in relation to the western block and Russia introducing “the strictest capital …

Experts on crypto policy argue that concerns expressed by high profile politicians about Russia evading economic sanctions using cryptocurrency are “totally unfounded.” They say the crypto market is not nearly large enough nor deep enough to support the volume that Russia needs and that the country’s digital asset infrastructure is minimal. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the current President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde are among the high profile figures concerned that cryptocurrency could provide the means for Russia to bypass severe financial sanctions imposed for its invasion of Ukraine. The country has been mostly …

The Treasury Department and reportedly the White House are warning U.S.-based companies and individuals not to facilitate crypto transactions sent to certain Russian nationals and banks. According to regulations from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control scheduled to go into effect on March 1, U.S. residents may not use digital currencies to benefit Russia’s government — including the country’s central bank — as an attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The guidelines equated crypto transactions to “deceptive or structured transactions or dealings” in attempting to evade sanctions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said …

After climbing to a price of more than $41,000 on Monday, Bitcoin’s market capitalization has surpassed that of the Russian ruble. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the market cap of Bitcoin (BTC) surged to roughly $780 billion on Monday amid the price rising to $41,391, a 5.7% increase over the last 24 hours. BTC’s market capitalization exceeds the money supply of the Russian ruble, which according to the Central Bank of Russia was 65.3 trillion rubles as of Feb. 1 — roughly $629 billion at the time of publication. The flippening likely occurred as the Russian ruble is undergoing inflation …

As the West continues to impose more sanctions against Russian banks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one Ukrainian official has called for sanctions on Russians’ cryptocurrency holdings as well. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, took to Twitter on Sunday to urge the global cryptocurrency exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. He emphasized that exchanges should freeze not only the addresses tied to Russia and Belarus officially but also to “sabotage ordinary users.” I'm asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian …

U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT) witnessed a spike of over 30% in five days against the Russian ruble — highlighting the negative and immediate impact of the ongoing war on the traditional financial system. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and crypto exchange Binance show that the ruble (RUB) is undergoing inflation as the USDT/RUB trading pair — for the first time in history — crossed 105 RUB. Prior to the spike, the USDT/RUB pair maintained a comparatively steady market price below 80 rubles. However, with the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine war, the ruble’s market price against USDT surged on Feb. …

The geopolitical news flow is likely to result in volatile moves in Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins in the next few days. News of Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering the nuclear deterrence forces on high alert may be viewed as a negative, but reports of talks between the warring nations could be positive as it raises hopes of an end to the conflict. The crypto community came into focus as the Ukrainian government called for help and sought crypto donations. Some individuals on social media said their Ukrainian credit cards had stopped working and they were not able to withdraw money …

The European Commission announced to remove a number of Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) messaging system, aimed at hindering Russia’s capacity to carry out cross-border payments. In a joint statement released by the European Commission, leaders from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States highlighted their shared interest in defending Ukraine from the war against Russia: “We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.” While condemning the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s move to lay siege across Ukraine, the EU Commission …

Within the first week of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Ukrainian government has reached out to the crypto community on Twitter for raising funds to support its civilians and troops. Ukraine has now started accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) as donations. As Russia threatens to take over Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, the government of Ukraine sought help from numerous international organizations to overpower the imminent threat. However, considering time is of the essence, the official Twitter account of Ukraine extended its call for help to Crypto Twitter. Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. …

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has called on lawmakers to approve a regulatory framework on crypto, hinting at potentially preventing Russia from getting around economic sanctions. Speaking to reporters at an informal meeting of economics and finance ministers on Friday, Lagarde said the European Central Bank would be “decisively and rigorously” implementing sanctions on Russia imposed by European lawmakers in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. In response to a question on Russia potentially using crypto to evade some of these measures, the ECB president urged action on an existing proposal for a regulatory framework …

Russia's military intervention in Ukraine has elicited a strong reaction from the cryptocurrency community. The news of the invasion initially sent Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies tumbling. The U.S. government has since responded to Russia's invasion with stringent economic sanctions that have helped crypto prices rebound from their initial price collapse. Amid all the doom and gloom, there are a few voices of hope in the crypto community. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, a Russian citizen, voiced vocal opposition to Russia's invasion and said the country should not have abandoned the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the conflict. FTX CEO …

Buyers returned to the Bitcoin (BTC) market, locating interim upside opportunities as the price rebounded to nearly $40,000 on Feb. 25, gaining 16% in less than 24 hours. Investors bulk up Bitcoin holdings The number of Bitcoin addresses with a balance greater than 0.01 BTC (~$400) reached a record high of 9.51 million, the latest data from CoinMetrics shows. Meanwhile, the number of addresses that hold at least 0.1 BTC (~$3,850) also reached 3.34 million for the first time in history. On the whole, Bitcoin's network added a little over 24,500 addresses with a non-zero balance on Thursday, coinciding with …