[Bitcoin Now] Weakness Amid Ukraine Crisis... Digital Asset Investor Sentiment 'Shrinks'

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Amid rising tensions surrounding Ukraine, the price of Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, is slightly declining.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 10:05 AM on the 14th, the price of Bitcoin is trading at 51.46 million KRW, down 0.17% (89,000 KRW) compared to the previous day.

On the 7th of this month, Bitcoin rose 3.44% in one day to reach 53.51 million KRW. This was due to the Nasdaq index, which is centered on tech stocks, rebounding after the U.S. e-commerce company Amazon's net profit for the fourth quarter of last year surged to approximately $14.3 billion (about 17.14 trillion KRW), nearly doubling. Recently, Bitcoin has shown a synchronization phenomenon with Nasdaq.

However, as the possibility of Russia invading Ukraine increases, Nasdaq has plunged, and Bitcoin prices also appear to be on a downward trend. Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, analyzed, "NVIDIA and AMD plunged on news that the Ukraine issue could negatively impact the semiconductor supply chain."

The United States urged its citizens in Ukraine to evacuate within 48 hours on the 11th, and both the U.S. and Russia have ordered the withdrawal of some embassy staff in Ukraine, escalating tensions. Russia opposes Western countries' arms supplies to Ukraine and Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The U.S. has stated it will respond firmly if Russia invades Ukraine while also seeking diplomatic solutions. On the 12th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden had a 62-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the matter. However, it is reported that no tangible results were achieved.

Rapid inflation in the U.S. has also contributed to the weakness in digital assets by increasing concerns about tightening by the Federal Reserve (Fed). As news of imminent tightening spreads, investor sentiment is shifting from risk assets to safe assets.

Meanwhile, the Digital Asset Fear & Greed Index operated by Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, recorded 43.99, indicating a 'neutral' stage, showing that investment sentiment in digital assets has contracted. Compared to the 58.45 recorded on the 7th of this month, it decreased by 14.46. Dunamu's Digital Asset Fear & Greed Index is divided into stages: 'Extreme Fear (0?20)', 'Fear (20?40)', 'Neutral (40?60)', 'Greed (60?80)', and 'Extreme Greed (80?100)'. The greed direction indicates increased interest in buying by market participants, whereas moving toward fear indicates a fear of asset decline, leading to market exits and a chain reaction of price drops.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.