A message from our CIO, Scott Phillips:
"G'day Fools. If you're like us, you're dismayed by the events taking place in Ukraine. It is an unnecessary humanitarian tragedy. Times like these remind us that money is important, but other things are far more valuable. And yet the financial markets remain open, shares are trading, and our readers and members are looking to us for guidance. So we'll do our best to continue to serve you, while also hoping for a swift and peaceful end to war in Ukraine."
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The Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) price is down 2.5% over the past 24 hours, roughly equal to its 7-day loss.
One Ether is currently trading for US$2,643 (AU$3,784).
The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is holding up a bit stronger than the Ethereum price. The world's top crypto by market cap is down 1.3% over 24 hours, though it's down 3.0% over the full week.
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are in focus as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has begin to embroil the crypto world.
Ukraine's call to crypto arms
Ukrainian officials have been asking crypto exchanges to freeze the accounts of Russian politicians and oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin.
Yesterday, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov upped the ante, with this Twitter post:
I'm asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.
As Bloomberg reports, a Binance spokesperson said that to "unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users' accounts … [would] fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists".
The global crypto exchange added:
However, we are taking the steps necessary to ensure we take action against those that have had sanctions levied against them while minimising impact to innocent users. Should the international community widen those sanctions further, we will apply those aggressively as well.
If the Ethereum price rises, so will the value of donations to Ukraine
Atop its efforts to cut Russia out of cryptos, Ukraine has itself been asking investors to help fund its defence against the invaders.
According to Bloomberg, "Ukrainian officials are directly soliciting crypto donations, adding to crowdfunding efforts that have raised more than $5 million in Bitcoin, Ether and other tokens since Friday."
Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky reported that he'd sent another Ether donation, his second, to Ukraine over the weekend. Ukraine's crypto wallet "held at least 126 of the tokens" on Saturday.
At the current Ethereum price, that works out to US$330,000.
Commenting on the Ukraine efforts, Binance's CEO Changpeng Zhao said, "This is where blockchain shines, global fundraising."
If the Ethereum price manages to regain its 16 November all-time highs of US$4,892, the value of Ether donations held in Ukraine's crypto wallet over the weekend would climb to US$616,000.
