Bitcoin Up 8%, Russian Born Ethereum Founder Buterin Blasts Kremlin, ING Loses 10%

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Just like US stock markets, which opened much lower on the new of the Russian invasion into Ukraine but then ended the day higher, crypto markets saw high volatility return.

Whereas yesterday we witnessed falls of around 10 to even 20% for several crypto coins and smaller altcoins, by now that picture has reversed and Bitcoin was trading upwards 10% at the time of writing this article, exchanging hands for $38,400. Ethereum trades 9% higher at $2,600.

Vitalik Buterin reacts

Russian President Vladimir Putin might have forgotten about the power of the internet when he decided to send the red army into sovereign Ukrainian territory yesterday.

Russian youngsters are not fooled by state media claiming that Ukraine somehow provoked the attack and on Russian social media platforms many of them highlighted the words of Vitalik Buterin, the founder of the second biggest cryptocurrency Ethereum. Writing, for once, in his native Russian, Buterin wrote that he was “very upset by Putin’s decision” to abandon peaceful solutions in Russia’s dispute with Ukraine and “start a war, instead.”

This is a crime against the Ukrainian and Russian people. I want to wish everyone safety and security, even though I know there won’t be.

Reminder: Ethereum is neutral, but I am not.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 24, 2022

Buterin then added:

Reminder: Ethereum is neutral, but I am not.

Dutch banking giant ING tumbles

One of the more surprising results of a possible cutting of Russia out of the SWIFT system (the global messaging system that banks use to communicate with each other) would be a major loss for Dutch banking giant ING.

This is because ING disclosed last week that it has 4.7 billion euros in exposure in Russia, but only around 25% of that is onshore. Its CEO said the bank plans to remain in Russia and would act accordingly if any new sanctions arose.

peshkov / Depositphotos.com