Ukraine
Blockchain forensics firm finds millions in sanctioned crypto wallet
Blockchain security and forensics firm Elliptic has been working with authorities to expose crypto wallets affiliated with sanctioned individuals or organizations. The United Kingdom-based company has discovered a wallet with “significant crypto-asset holdings” in the millions of dollars that may be linked to sanctioned Russian officials and oligarchs. Speaking to Bloomberg on March 14, Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson said that crypto could be used for sanctions evasion. However, it has been widely reported and generally accepted now that Russia is very unlikely to pivot to crypto assets to circumvent them. The report did not specify the exact value of the crypto in the wallet it discovered or the nature of the assets it held. Robinson added that the scale of the use of crypto is in...
Bitcoin could crush Russian ruble by rising another 140%, classic technical setup suggests
Bitcoin (BTC) has declined by around 30% after topping out at 5.8 million rubles a token on March 9. Nonetheless, the said drop could be an excuse for traders to dump another big stash of the Russian national currency if a classic bullish continuation pattern plays out. Bitcoin heads towards 11 million rubles Dubbed the “ascending triangle,” the pattern appears when the price consolidates between a rising lower trendline (support) and a flat upper trendline (resistance). It completes after the price breaks out of the consolidation range in the direction of its previous trend, eyeing levels at length equal to the maximum distance between the triangle’s upper and lower trendline. BTC’s price against the ruble has been trending inside a similar structure since January ...
Ukraine to make the planned NFT collection a museum of war, Deputy Minister says
Ukraine’s forthcoming NFT collection will depict the Russian Invasion in NFT format. The NFTs would feature stories from reliable sources on the ongoing war Elsewhere, Singapore plans to tax NFT traders, with a ‘specified’ criterion The Ukrainian government has divulged further information on its planned release of an NFT series to support its military as the country copes with the ongoing invasion by Russia. According to the Deputy Minister of Digital Information, Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine expects that the NFT series will be a museum of this war. Bornyakov told The Guardian that by wrapping the information in NFTs, Ukraine wants to “tell the world in NFT format” what is happening in their country. With an intention to be “cool, good-looking,” U...
Brent Renaud, Award-Winning Documentarian, Shot and Killed in Ukraine
Brent Renaud, an award-winning American documentarian, was shot and killed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine on Sunday (March 13th). Renaud was on assignment for MSNBC and TIME magazine, capturing footage for a documentary series about refugees. According to fellow filmmaker Juan Arredondo, he and Renaud came under fire at a checkpoint in Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv. Both men were shot and “we got split,” Arredondo told reporters from a hospital gurney, where he was being treated for his own injuries (via Deadline). Renaud was struck in the neck and died soon after. “We are devastated by the loss of Brent Renaud. As an award-winning filmmaker and journalist, Brent tackled the toughest stories around the world often alongside his brother Craig Renaud,” TIME Editor in Chief and CEO Edward Felsentha...
US and EU double down on measures against Russia potentially using crypto to evade sanctions
The United States and the European Union have announced new actions targeting Russia’s economy and wealthy individuals as a report suggests Vladimir Putin’s allies have attempted to circumvent sanctions using cryptocurrency in foreign countries. In a Friday announcement, the White House said leadership from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union will take additional actions aimed at economically isolating Russia in response to President Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine. The announcement includes banning imports of many Russian goods, banning the export of luxury goods to Russia and guidance for the U.S. Treasury Department to monitor the country’s attempts to evade existing sanctions. “Treasury’s expansive actions ag...
Beatport to Host Fundraising Livestream In Support of Ukraine
Beatport is hosting over 24 of performances from artists all over the world in support of Ukraine this weekend. On Sunday, the popular music platform will host a special edition of their ReConnect livestream series in support of Choose Love Ukraine, an organization dedicated to protecting the Ukrainian LGBTQIA+ community in the wake of Russia’s invasion. According to a press release, previous iterations of the ReConnect series have raised over $600,000 in total.. Organizers have recruited an international cast of dance music talent for the charity event. Nicole Moudaber, Chris Liebing, TERR, Yousef, Hector Romero, Daria Kolosova and many more will stream performances from a variety of locations all over the world. While some artists will beam in on their own from their homes or ...
Pink Floyd and David Gilmour Pull Music from Streaming Services in Russia and Belarus
Pink Floyd are removing all of their music from 1987 onwards from streaming services in Russia and Belarus to take a stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Former lead singer David Gilmour is pulling all of his solo recordings as well. The Pink Floyd albums being removed include A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the band’s first without founding member Roger Waters, its 1994 follow-up The Division Bell, and 2014’s The Endless River, as well as a handful of live albums and box sets. The group’s timeless classics, Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, will remain available, as well as the trove of 1970s-era live albums that were quietly uploaded to streaming services in late December. Both Gilmour and Waters have spoken out against Russia on social media. Earlier this month, Gil...
The White House Briefs TikTok Stars on Ukraine Crisis
National Security Council staffers and White House press secretary Jen Psaki gathered 30 TikTok stars via Zoom Thursday, March 10th for a briefing on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine late last month, TikTok became an unlikely source of real-time information for millions around the world. While the app has proven to be a useful tool for reporters, its algorithm has also harbored dangerous misinformation and Russian propaganda. Psaki led the briefing alongside Matt Miller, a special adviser for communications at the White House National Security Council. In a recording obtained by The Washington Post, Biden officials emphasized the influence these creators have in online discussions surrounding the crisis. “We recognize this is a critically important aven...
Haven Protocol (XHV) shows strong signs of bottoming out after crashing 90%
Haven Protocol (XHV) showed signs of returning to its bullish form as its price doubled in just five days of trading. What’s pumping Haven Protocol? XHV’s price surged by up to 107% week-to-date to climb above $3.60 on March 11, its highest level in more than three months. Interestingly, the move upside followed a period of aggressive selloffs that saw XHV’s value dropping from nearly $20 in November 2021 to as low as $1.60 in early February 2022 — an approximately 90% decline. XHV/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView Traders started returning to the Haven Protocol market against the prospects of two macroeconomic scenarios: U.S. President Joe Biden’s executive order that focuses on cryptocurrencies and hardline western sanctions on Russian oligarchs amid an ...
Bitfinex refuses to freeze crypto belonging to non-sanctioned Russians
Amid global businesses boycotting the Russian residents over military conflict in Ukraine, some companies in the cryptocurrency industry stand up for the rights of non-sanctioned Russian citizens. Bitfinex, an affiliate firm of the world’s largest stablecoin provider, Tether (USDT), will not unilaterally freeze the accounts of ordinary Russian customers as part of the global sanctions unless it’s forced to do so, a spokesperson for Bitfinex told Cointelegraph on Thursday. The representative emphasized that Bitfinex has taken appropriate action against the accounts of Russian users who have been sanctioned. “As with all our customer accounts, we work to ensure that there are no irregular movements or measures that might be in contravention of applicable international sanctions,” the s...
Bridgewater’s Rebecca Patterson believes the Ukraine situation will speed up growth in the crypto sector
Patterson said that crypto is currently liquid sensitive and has a long way to evolve She held that the Russia-Ukraine standoff should speed up growth in the crypto space In her opinion, the momentum in crypto could become self-fulfilling as more investors join in Bridgewater Associates’ Chief Investment Strategist Rebecca Patterson has predicted that the current situation in Russia-Ukraine will only speed up the overall growth of ecosystems around digital assets. Speaking to CNBC’s Closing Bell, the investment manager noted that this is a significant moment for crypto as it is the first time the digital asset has been used as a geopolitical tool, unlike capital markets that have, in the past, been caught up in the midst of a geopolitical crisis. Patterson added that crypt...
Ukraine’s ‘Cellar Violinist’ Plays on Amid Heaving Bombing
A gentle tune from a violin played by a musician who has been dubbed Ukraine’s “cellar violinist” is a lullaby for a child sheltered in the dark basement of an apartment building in the besieged Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Vera Lytovchenko has become an internet icon of resilience as images of the concert violinist playing in the basement bomb shelter have inspired an international audience via social media. When heavy Russian bombing of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv started two weeks ago, Lytovchenko, her professor father and neighbors sought safety in their building’s basement. “Bombs can fall everywhere in our city, so we decided to go down in the cellar,” the 39-year-old violinist told The Associated Press via Skype Wednesday during a brief respite from the bombing during a tem...
