Bitcoin plunged 8% on Wednesday night to as low as $34,778, the lowest level since Jan. 24, as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine.
The cryptocurrency
BTCUSD,
was recently trading at around $34,915, down about 49% from its all-time high in November. Ethereum
ETHUSD,
also tumbled to near its lowest point of the year, recently down 9%, at $2,379.34
Putin claimed in a in a televised address that the special operation comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine. He said Russia doesn’t intend to occupy Ukraine. Explosions were heard in and around Ukrainian cities, and President Joe Biden condemned the attack as “unprovoked and unjustified.”
Futures for U.S. stocks tumbled Wednesday night. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
YMH22,
were down more than 2%, as were S&P 500 futures
ES00,
ESH22,
and the Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
NQH22,