Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the crypto market experienced an enormous sell-off; however, since then, Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency, has recovered to trade above $44,000, a two-week high.
Speaking with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Billionaire investor Bill Miller discussed Bitcoin’s potential to serve as a safe-haven asset during periods of international unrest. The American investor explained why Russia and other nations that do not have a non-reserve currency might well resort to Bitcoin to combat inflation that is impenetrable to foreign government’s control.
“Russia has 16% of their 640 billion reserves in dollars, 32% in euros. They have almost 50% of their reserves in currencies controlled by people who want to do them harm. From Russia’s point of view, that’s not a great position to be in. They have 22% in gold and that’s the only part of their reserves that other countries cant control,” he said.
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Following the ruble’s record fall on Monday, February 28, the Russian central bank implemented emergency measures that included a significant increase in interest rates, raised to 20% from 9.5%.
According to Miller, who was analyzing the price of Bitcoin, he believes the current geopolitical situation surrounding Russia “is very bullish for Bitcoin,” which he also described as “unique.”
“If you are a country out there that has a non-reserve currency (there’s about 100 of them) you might think about something else out that there that other countries cannot harm us with, that is impervious to inflation or to being manufactured in greater quantities. So I think its very bullish for Bitcoin in particular.”
Russian rubles falls to a record low
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to conduct crisis meetings with his top economic advisors after the ruble plummeted to a historic low against the US dollar.
On February 28, the Russian central bank also more than doubled interest rates to 20%, as analysts now predict that the Russian economy will shrink by 5% this year.
The latest round of sanctions, which imposed by the United States, EU, UK, and Canada on Russia, expelled the nation from SWIFT, with intentions to “paralyze” the assets of its central bank.
As a result of the fall of Russia’s national currency Ruble-Bitcoin (RUB/BTC), volumes hit a 9-month high; nevertheless, the Ukrainian Hryvnia volume on the crypto market has also hit record highs as its been severely affected.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $44,169, up 1.29% in the last 24 hours, and 14.50% in the previous week with a market capitalization of $838 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The initial invasion resulted in the price of Bitcoin falling from $39,000 to below $35,000 at the end of last week. Nevertheless, the flagship digital asset rebounded almost as quickly as it had dropped, with Bitcoin now valued more than the ruble following its collapse.
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