Vladimir Putin chose one of Russia’s most symbolically charged days to float the idea that the war in Ukraine might be wrapping up. Speaking during Victory Day celebrations on May 9, the Russian president suggested the conflict could be approaching “completion.”
The remark came against the backdrop of ceasefire discussions reportedly brokered by US President Donald Trump, who has positioned himself as the dealmaker capable of ending Europe’s largest land war since 1945.
Markets moved fast
Bitcoin surged 4% to $85,000 in the hours following Putin’s comments on May 9. Ethereum followed the next day with a 3% climb, according to analysis from The Block.
Ukraine has received over $225 million in cryptocurrency donations since the invasion began, per CoinDesk, primarily in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Those funds moved faster than traditional banking channels could, especially in the chaotic early weeks when Ukrainian banks were under enormous strain.
On the other side of the conflict, transaction volumes of Russian evasion-denominated transactions using USDT have surpassed $10 billion since 2022. Crypto became a tool for both sides, though for very different reasons.
The Trump factor
Since his return to the White House, the administration has pursued aggressively pro-crypto policies, including exploration of a potential national Bitcoin reserve.
What a ceasefire means for investors
Market analysts have noted that ending the conflict could stabilize energy prices globally. Russia remains one of the world’s largest energy exporters, and the war’s disruption of supply chains has been a persistent inflationary force since 2022.
Analysts from both CoinDesk and The Block have flagged that a potential temporary price dip before any sustained bullish trend driven by trade normalization and institutional adoption is possible, as some of Bitcoin’s safe-haven premium evaporates if geopolitical risk recedes.
Cathie Wood of Ark Invest has estimated Bitcoin could reach $1.5 million by 2030 under conditions of improved global stability.
