Prominent figures in the crypto community have responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and they haven’t minced their words.
“Fuck war,” wrote Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group, the largest digital asset management company in the U.S.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of crypto exchange FTX, weighed in as well, sharing his thoughts “on crypto, Ukraine, and stocks.”
Bankman-Fried noted that Bitcoin’s price has tumbled alongside stocks, arguing that “if the world gets shittier, people have less free cash,” and that they are effectively “selling BTC–along with stocks, etc.–to pay for war.”
He added that said that the situation is “likely destabilizing” for Eastern European currencies and their financial systems, suggesting that they might look to alternative options. “If you were in Ukraine right now, where would you trust your money?” he added.
But SBF, as he’s popularly known, stressed that the financial impact of the conflict shouldn’t overshadow what’s happening in real life. War is “really bad for the world,” he said. “Fuck all this price stuff. Go outside and do something nice for someone.”
2) NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE
And more importantly, there might be war. That’s really bad for the world. Fuck all this price stuff. Go outside and do something nice for someone.
—–
Seriously, do something nice. The world could use it.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also took to Twitter in his native Russian language to condemn the invasion.
“Very upset by Putin’s decision to abandon the possibility of a peaceful solution to the dispute with Ukraine and go to war instead,” wrote Buterin, stressing that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “is a crime against both the Ukrainian and Russian people.”
Очень расстроен решением Путина отказаться от возможности мирного решения спора с Украиной и вместо этого начать войну. Это преступление против украинского и русского народа.
Хочу желать всем безопасности, хотя знаю, что не какой безопасности не будет.
“Glory to Ukraine!” Buterin added, referring to Ukraine’s historical national salute and the official greeting of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Russian president Vladimir Putin went live on national TV around 4am local time to announce a military operation against Ukraine, claiming that the action was necessary to “defend” the Russian-speaking people living in the country.
Immediately after Putin’s appearance on TV, explosions were reported to have been heard in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, including the major cities of Kharkiv, Odesa, and Dnipro, as well as the city of Mariupol, situated right on the line of contact with Russia-backed separatist forces.
Ukraine-based crypto media faces challenges
Russian-language crypto news outlets with personnel in Ukraine have been directly affected by the invasion. ForkLog, which has been covering the industry news since 2015, has a number of team members based in Ukraine.
“A significant part of our team are Ukraine nationals, so now we are engaged in ensuring the safety of our employees. This may affect the stability of our operations,” ForkLog CEO Anatoly Kaplan said in a statement on Thursday.
“We call for an end to the bloodshed – this is unacceptable in the 21st century. Say No to war,” he added.
Nick Schteringard, ForkLog’s editor-in-chief, explained that several key members of the team are currently in the war zone and face a direct threat to their lives. “All this is like some Hollywood movie,” he said. “It’s absolutely clear that this man [Putin] is out of his head and has to be stopped. First of all, it’s up to those people living in Russia to go out and protest [against the war].”
Crypto markets plummet
The news of Russia’s military action against Ukraine has seen cryptocurrency prices nosedive alongside traditional financial markets.
According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin (BTC) is down 8% over the past 24 hours, and is currently trading at just over $35,000.
Many major digital assets, including Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Solana, and Cardano, have all posted double-digit losses.
“I don’t quite understand people who are now taking to Twitter to post about how the war brings an opportunity to buy the dip,” Schteringard told Decrypt, adding that people shouldn’t be focusing on crypto prices when people’s lives are at stake. “What Bitcoin, what stocks, just wake up, the war is at your doors!”
As Decrypt reported earlier this month, Ukrainian NGOs providing financial assistance to the nation’s military forces are seeing a growing number of donations made in cryptocurrency.
