Crypto Markets Dump $200B as Russia Begins Military Action in Ukraine

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has slumped more than 8% over the past 12 hours or so as Russia commences military action in Ukraine.

Around $200 billion has left the digital asset space over the past 12 hours resulting in a massive market slump which has dropped total market capitalization to a seven-month low.

At the time of press, the total market cap was around $1.64 trillion according to CoinGecko, its lowest level since early August 2021. The selloff escalated around 12 hours ago as news broke that Russia had engaged in military action against Ukrainian targets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday and explosions have been reported in several cities. ZeroHedge also reported that Moscow has suspended trading on the Russian stock markets and bourses across Asia are slumping at the moment as the specter of war becomes a reality.

Crypto assets in the red

Cryptocurrencies have been hit particularly hard as the market selloff accelerates. Bitcoin has tanked 8.6% on the day and was trading at $34,725 at the time of writing, its lowest level since the dip on January 24.

BTC is currently 49% down from its November all-time high as it compounds the 21% it has dumped over the past seven days. The world’s leading cryptocurrency is playing the pied piper again as all of those below it have tanked even harder.

Ethereum has shed a painful 10% on the day with ETH prices dumping to $2,382 at the time of writing. This is the lowest the asset has fallen to since Jan. 24 and it is on track to drop to a seven-month low.

The rest of the crypto market is a sea of red at the moment with Binance Coin (BNB), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) slumping between 9 and 13 percent. The only tokens in the green at the moment are stablecoins.

Gold prices spike

Gold is one of the few commodities that have increased in value at the moment, and this is usually the case with store of value assets during times of turmoil. The spot price of gold spiked to $1,948/oz a few hours ago, its highest level since early January 2021.