In this article, we discuss the top 5 gainers in cryptocurrencies after the Russia-Ukraine war. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these currencies, go directly to Cryptocurrencies After Russia-Ukraine War: Top 10 Gainers.
5. Polkadot
Polkadot has surged amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine as Gavin Wood, the founder of the coin, publicly lends his support to the Ukrainian people and urges action, leading by example and donating $5 million to the Ukraine government to help in the fight against Russia. Mykhailo Fedorov, the vice prime minister of Ukraine, has tweeted his gratitude to Woods as well. Polkadot has also opened a special wallet for fundraising for Ukraine where people can donate their crypto. The Ukraine government is accepting the coin through their aid program too.
Polkadot had been in a steep decline over the past few months amid a broader lull around cryptocurrencies as inflation and regulatory fears clouded the market. However, developments in Ukraine and the public donation by Woods has helped the coin climb higher. The social prominence of the coin has also increased following the Ukraine crisis.
4. Ripple
Ripple is one of the coins gaining importance as the war spreads to major Ukrainian cities. Ripple is one of the most popular coins for cross-border payments. As Western nations sanction Russia and Ukraine moves to broaden the support for crypto to support the war efforts, both countries have seen a massive surge in prices of currencies like Ripple. Russian businessmen are using the coin to navigate the sanctions while Ukrainians use it to fund the war. The price of the coin, after being flat for months, is up over 2% since the invasion.
Ripple is also important to the crisis because it already has partnerships with over a hundred banks around the world. This global reach increases the appeal of the coin to people who are using it as a workaround to the SWIFT payments system since it enables seamless transfer between different currencies at lightning fast speeds.
3. Ethereum
Ethereum is one of the most popular crypto coins in Ukraine. An Ethereum-based group in Ukraine recently auctioned off an NFT of a Ukrainian flag that sold for more than $6.5 million, making it the tenth-most expensive NFT across the globe. The crypto wallet of the Ukraine government for help related to the war had reached over $20 million in contributions from Bitcoin and Ethereum alone on March 2. This surge around the coin has calmed investors who had been dumping the coin as inflation battered the market.
Ethereum-based donations from prominent people like Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky have also helped the coin climb higher as people follow suit and interest around the currency increases. Investors have also been buoyed by statements of Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, on the crisis. Buterin, who is of Russian origin, has condemned the war and vowed not to be neutral in it.
2. Tether
Tether has also witnessed a massive increase in trading volume and an accompanying boost in price after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was one of the first cryptocurrencies accepted by the Ukrainian government as it appealed for funds from across the globe. The Tether coin, which usually trades around $1, is trading at way above this rate on crypto exchanges in the war-torn Ukraine.
Interest in Tether has also increased in Russia where sanctions by Western nations have literally floored the banking system and people are looking at alternative ways of managing their money and other assets. Threats of inflation in Ukraine have also forced people to look towards investments in Tether.
1. Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the most popular crypto coin in Ukraine. Since it is also the most popular coin across the globe, it has been the most-traded coin on both sides of the conflict as Ukraine uses it to facilitate donations for the war effort while Russians use it as a hedge against inflation and Western sanctions. Bitcoin-based payments have already helped the Ukrainian government raise tens of millions for the war.
Bitcoin has jumped to $42,397 after falling to as low as $36,370 in late February. This dramatic increase has come despite a 8% drop in the price of the coin on the day following the invasion. Since the US sanctioned Russian banks, however, the coin has been on a consistently upward trajectory and is likely to remain there for the remainder of the war.
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