Bitcoin hovers around $39K amid talks of Russia-Ukraine dialogue

Bitcoin, which nosedived below $34,000 when the war began on Thursday, was flat on Saturday at nearly $39,000 per coin, compared with a 5 per cent gain in XRP digital asset and a 10 per cent rise in Terra's LUNA token, reports CoinDesk.

New Delhi: The prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies somewhat stabilised on Saturday amid possible Russia-Ukraine talks.

Bitcoin, which nosedived below $34,000 when the war began on Thursday, was flat on Saturday at nearly $39,000 per coin, compared with a 5 per cent gain in XRP digital asset and a 10 per cent rise in Terra’s LUNA token, reports CoinDesk.

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The second major cryptocurrency Ethereum was at $2,710 per coin, up 2.66 per cent.

“Some investors expect the rebound in crypto prices to continue because of the spike in volatility,” said the report.

Some traders, however, expected the price bounce to be short-lived amid geopolitical uncertainty.

Similar to volatility, Bitcoin’s trading volume across major exchanges reached the highest level since the December 5 price crash, according to CoinDesk data.

“Consumer volumes on the exchange remain tepid despite large moves in the crypto space, suggesting reduced risk appetite and light overall positioning in markets,” David Duong, head of institutional research at Coinbase, wrote in an email to clients on Friday.

Earlier, the global crypto market lost nearly 10 per cent of its value as Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday. Over $200 billion worth of its global market value was wiped out.

The most-hit cryptocurrencies were Ethereum, Cardano, Avalanche and Polkadot, along with Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.