Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: Effects of war on bitcoin
by
Ataiwo913
on 10/05/2023, 17:18:29 UTC
I don't think you're right about Bitcoin and the war. Bitcoin can suffer from panic, surrounding global economic uncertainty due to certain events. But it doesn't have to happen and doesn't always happen. The full-scale invasion (because Russia's war against Ukraine itself started in 2014) started on February 24, 2022. If anything, BTC went up back then, namely from $37k on February 24 to $44.5k on March 1, and then up to $47k on March 31. The biggest impact on the price happens at the beginning, and Bitcoin was doing alright then. What's been going on with the price later has nothing to do with the war, IMO. Moreover, the war also gave new publicity and usage of Bitcoin, as Ukraine started actively accepting Bitcoin donations.
The effects of war on bitcoin are many.

First, there is the simple fact that people don't want to use bitcoin in wartime. The reason for this is that the U.S., for example, has made it clear that it will not allow its citizens to use bitcoin in their transactions because of its ties to terrorism and money laundering activities. It also discourages merchants from accepting it as payment because they fear losing business from customers who choose not to pay with crypto currencies due to loss of confidence in crypto currencies (as well as other reasons).

Secondly, when war breaks out, people need money fast—and they'll use whatever currency they can get their hands on. In times like these, cash is king because it's tangible and easy for people to carry around—which means that governments have an interest in keeping cash out of circulation during wartime periods so that people don't turn to using digital currencies instead (which makes sense if you think about it).

Finally, since bitcoin isn't backed by anything but the faith in its users' ability to find a way out of any situation—and then exchange their coins back into fiat currency at some point—it won't be worth much during war time if no one wants to use it anymore