Russia-Ukraine crisis heralds 'stay of execution' for cryptocurrencies 

The fallout of risk-assets, a ban on cryptocurrencies in China and mounting regulatory concerns had almost halved the value of Bitcoin from its November all-time high of US$69,000.

The outlook for crypto was looking increasing bearish as the immense power required to mine them took the limelight amidst an energy shortage in Europe and Asia.

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin flagged a death-cross in early January, where the 50-day moving average crossed the 200-day. 

Enter the Russia-Ukraine crisis

The Russia-Ukraine crisis bolstered the argument for blockchain products and decentralised finance.

Over the weekend, the US and Western Allies agreed to block Russia from the international payments messaging system, Swift. As well as sanctions against Russia's central bank and assets.

The news prompted an almost 15% rally for Bitcoin and a likewise rebound for other major cryptos like Ethereum, Solana and Cardano.

This helped the Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP) rally 11.5% on Tuesday.

“Bitcoin is turning bullish here as it is showing it can rally even when risk aversion hits Wall Street.  Investors are selling stocks and piling into Treasuries, commodities, and cryptos,” said Oanda senior market analyst, Ed Moya. 

“As the Ukraine crisis deepens, diversification away from the Russian rouble is growing and that has led to flows into cryptos.  It looks like the Crypto Winter is over and prices have stabilised.”

Crypto exchanges open for business

There are growing concerns that Russian individuals and businesses have turned to crypto to avoid sanctions.

Many crypto exchanges have pushed back calls to block Russian users.

"I understand the rationale for this request but, despite my deep respect for the Ukrainian people, @krakenfx cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian clients without a legal requirement to do so," said Kraken CEO Jesse Powell on Twitter.

Bitcoin price chart (Source: TradingView)