The most popular of cryptocurrencies fell to its lowest level since June, dragging in its wake the entire market.
The Russian attack in Ukraine on the night of Wednesday to Thursday slammed the market for cryptocurrencies, which are considered high-risk assets.
Bitcoin fell 7.8% to $35,084 at the time of writing, according to data collected by the firm CoinGecko. The king of cryptocurrencies is seeing some of its lowest prices since July 20, when its price fell below $30,000.
Bitcoin has lost 49.2% of its value since November 10, when the cryptocurrency reached a record high of $69,077.44.
Russian military units invaded Ukraine overnight after months of threats and failed attempts at a diplomatic resolution, roiling global financial markets.
Ethereum, the second crypto by market value, collapsed 9.7% to $2,396.93. It has lost 50.86% since its November 10 high. Ethereum was at its lowest since July 19, when its prices fell to $1,824.93.
Other digital currencies were also down sharply, with falls ranging from 9% to 14% for those considered viable. Solana lost 10% to 79.07 dollars, Avalanche 10.5% to 68.20 dollars.
Meme coins were also suffering: dogecoin, billionaire Elon Musk’s favorite crypto was down 11.7%, while rival Shiba Inu dropped 9.1%.
The crypto market was valued at $1.66 trillion, down $1.4 trillion from the $3.01 trillion cross in November.
While cryptocurrencies have been touted as an alternative safe-haven investment to gold during times of geopolitical stress, they have failed to serve that role during the ongoing Ukrainian crisis.
As Russian troops entered Ukraine overnight, gold traded at some of its highest prices since July of 2020. Other commodities surged as well, with Brent crude oil topping $100 a barrel, and West Texas intermediate up more than 4% and trading above $96 a barrel.
