Ukraine Financial News

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will not accept sanctioned Russian banks' cards

The chief executive of Schroders said there is “no market” for Russian stocks anymore, as he warned that knock-on effects from the war in Ukraine could trigger a slowdown in the UK.

Bill Gross, the one-time bond king who co-founded fixed income giant Pimco, said he sees the possibility of stagflation in the economy and he wouldn't buy stocks aggressively now.

The Biden administration is expected to ban Russian-flagged ships from entering U.S. ports, according to officials familiar with the matter, extending sanctions against the country following its invasion of Ukraine.

More than a million Ukrainians have fled their homeland in under a week, latest figures from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reveal.

Global cryptocurrency markets have rallied strongly in recent days in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Bitcoin's rising to $44,188 on Wednesday after falling to $36,370 last week. Other leading cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, ripple and Solana, were either flat or up at least 2%.

French Finance Minister Bruno le Maire said on Wednesday that the European Union (EU) is looking for ways other than cryptocurrencies to impose EU sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported.

Crypto financial services firm BlockFi has released the third edition of its Real Talk quarterly survey.

The Ukrainian government and non-profit organizations providing support to Ukrainians and the military have cumulatively raised nearly USD 53.5m worth of crypto assets, according to SlowMist AML, a blockchain security firm that tracks crypto donations sent to the government and four Ukrainian NGOs.

Steve Schifferes, Honorary Research Fellow, City Political Economy Research Centre; Professor of Financial Journalism, City, University of London._____

From a TV screen above the plenary of the European Parliament on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an impassioned call for Europe to prove that it supported his invaded country.

Investors spooked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pulled more than £600m from equity funds in the final few days of February, reversing what would have been a buoyant month.

Bitcoin prices have surged as investors again appear to view the volatile cryptocurrency as a safe haven for their money and Russians and Ukrainians seek alternatives to their country's financial institutions. After initially falling to around $34,000 following Russia's advance into Ukraine last week, bitcoin pushed about 10% higher on Monday and is now up more than 25% in the past week, to $43,900 Wednesday afternoon. Other cryptocurrencies have also soared. Russians are exchanging their rapidly devalued rubles for bitcoin to try and mitigate the impact of the economic sanctions imposed by the international communities for their country's attack on Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has limited its citizens' ability to conduct electronic fund transactions, so Ukrainians are also turning to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They're also buying stablecoins whose values are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The next round of sanctions against Russia and wealthy individuals based in the country could target crypto and crypto exchanges, with Washington already taking aim at those hoping to secure their funds by making bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin buys.

US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday this week, with market participants in both crypto and traditional markets now eagerly awaiting his first comments on the economy after the war in Ukraine broke out.

Societe Generale is managing its Russia operations with "utmost caution and selectivity" and Citigroup said it risks losing around half of its $10bn business in the country.

Linklaters and Allen & Overy have issued statements condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine seven days after the initial assault on the country by Vladimir Putin’s troops.

Deloitte is considering pulling out of Russia, becoming the first Big Four audit firm to do so as pressure grows on Western companies to cut ties with the country following its invasion of Ukraine.

A senior Bank of England official said that a market correction could be on the cards in the wake of escalating conflict in Ukraine.

Western sanctions, which aim to squeeze Russia's economy and sever it from the global financial system, have forced companies and financial firms in their droves to halt business in the country. But many of the world's largest crypto exchanges — including Binance and U.S.-based Kraken and Coinbase — have stopped short of a blanket ban on Russian clients, despite a plea from the Ukrainian government for one. They said they would screen users and block anyone targeted by sanctions.

Bitcoin and gold have been jousting in a long battle for supremacy over the year. With Russia invading Ukraine, financial markets across the world took a lot of heavy hits. For instance, Russia saw its stock market crash by over 45%. As expected, Bitcoin was not spared from this onslaught either. At least, for a while.