Uncertain times start to create some strong price trends. It was a great start to the week for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. When the Russian-Ukrainian war tension grew in the second half of February, BTC, ETH, and altcoins were disappointed as their price dropped along with equities. Crypto bears claimed it’s proof they are not a hedge against catastrophic events, like war.

This may have changed. When the western countries agreed to introduce unprecedented economic sanctions on Russia, including freezing assets and ejecting Russia from the SWIFT payment system last weekend, crypto prices exploded on Monday.

BTCUSD went up 18.19% in just two days from $37,609 to $44,335; altcoins followed. Cryptocurrencies fundamentals changed as a tool for Russian oligarchs to avoid restrictions.

First, the sanctions will hurt western economies. Corporations like Shell BP decided to lose billions to pressure Russia to stop the war. The European Central Bank is debating stagflation, a combination of inflation and slow economic growth. Weak euro, pound, franc would create an opportunity for greater cryptocurrency adoption.

Second, the war in Europe has strengthened USD in the short term. EURUSD fell -2.06% since February 23. However, breaking the world’s financial system apart should harm the petrodollar as the international currency in the long run. Moscow will use any other currency to sell its commodities to China, Pakistan, Iran, India, Mexico, and other countries willing to trade with Russia.

This week, cryptocurrencies, energy commodities, gold, and silver will experience colossal price swings. The same applies to practically every forex pair. Here’s our pick.

Bitcoin

BTCUSD is down 1.6%, which creates a tremendous buy-low opportunity for firm crypto believers. More restrained traders may wait for a deeper correction, while we’d expect the most hard-nosed bears to open some leveraged shorts already.

Remember that altcoins usually follow Bitcoin in mid-tern trends. There are 20 cryptocurrency pairs you can trade with SimpleFX.

Gold

Monday, XAUUSD jumped 1.88% to an impressive level of $1950 per ounce. We might see long-term gold appreciate more, breaking through the critical $2,000 resistance. On the other hand, we are entering unchartered waters, and thinking out-of-the-box is needed. Margin traders should observe gold as it dances between $1,900 support and $2,000 resistance.

UKOIL

This is a no-brainer. Russia is hit by sanctions, which drastically diminishes the supply of crude oil on global markets. UKOIL is up 13.42% in the last two trading days, setting a record at $116.87 per barrel today. Any news on the conflict can swing the prices up or down; the same is accurate with information about possible deals with other exporters on rising production.

If you have access to the internet, now is the time to trade with SimpleFX.