After Russia agreed to negotiate with Ukrainian officials on Friday, Bitcoin and other crypto-assets rose.
Ethereum, XRP, LUNA tokens gained 6%,8%, and 10%, respectively, for the day, while Bitcoin was roughly flat. Other notable gainers in the crypto market include FTM and Tezos
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President, Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk. However, the situation remains unstable, with Russian forces intensifying attacks on Kyiv.
A later statement from the Russian President implied that he didn’t take the talks seriously.
Crypto markets saw bitcoin underperform most alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) on Friday, suggesting investors were more willing to take risks.
The unexpected rebound of Bitcoin in the past couple of days may also be the result of a so-called short squeeze, according to analysts. A short squeeze occurred on several altcoins after oversold conditions were reached.
The flagship crypto’s one-week implied volatility jumped to an annualized 75% on Thursday, surpassing the one, three and six-month indices, similar to what happened after the May 2021 crash.
An investor’s implied volatility describes their expectation of price volatility during a specific period. BTC’s spot price may not rise significantly until volatility spikes are over, however.
In spite of large moves in the crypto space, consumer volumes on the exchange remain tepid, indicating reduced risk appetite and light market positioning.
Coinbase’s fourth-quarter earnings were announced on Thursday, and they beat revenue expectations. The exchange cautioned shareholders, however, that trading volumes might fall during the first quarter of this year due to high volatility.
Due to the downside risks that still remain at the crypto market amid high global inflation, investors are seeking protection by holding U.S. dollar cash positions and Treasury bills. This is particularly true when the market is extremely uncertain.