Economist Alex Kruger warns that if Russia turns to cryptocurrencies in order to evade sanctions, crypto assets would be negatively impacted.
Kruger tells his 123,700 Twitter followers that the use of crypto to bypass sanctions would attract a severe response from US regulators.
“Russia using crypto to bypass sanctions would be dreadfully bearish.
Don’t expect it to happen.
But be careful what you wish for.
US regulators would be pushed to crush the industry as a matter of national security.”
The US, alongside its allies and partners, has imposed various sanctions on Russia after it invaded its neighbor Ukraine. The sanctions include disconnecting Russia’s major financial institutions from the US financial system.
According to the economist and trader, the prices of crypto and other assets such as equities and commodities have now hit a bottom after the fall occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Bottom is in for stocks and crypto.
Top in for precious metals.
Market telling you that.”
Kruger, however, says that even though he considers the prices of crypto and other assets to have bottomed out, the situation could deteriorate if the conflict leads to nuclear weapons.
“How could things get even worse:
– China invades Taiwan
– Russia invades more countries
– Nuclear weapons
Barring those scenarios, the market has already taken in the worst-case scenario, and brushed it off.
This happens in every armed conflict. This one could have been different, as it’s bigger than any other conflict in decades, but market saying not so.”
At time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) and other top-10 non-stablecoin crypto assets have appreciated by at least 10% over the last 24 hours.