The price of Bitcoin plunged shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” against Ukraine in what appears to be a full-scale invasion of the country..

The U.S. Secret Service has launched a cryptocurrency awareness hub featuring educational tools to combat the “illicit use of digital assets as well as provide public awareness information on digital asset security and how to ensure it remains secure.”

The Stock Exchange of Thailand is reportedly planning to launch a digital asset trading platform, according to its president Dr. Pakorn Peetathawatchai. The stock exchange expects the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the platform “very soon.”

CryptoCompare's Digital Asset Summit is returning on 30th March at Old Billingsgate, London. As Europe's flagship institutional summit for digital assets, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with key industry decision-makers and leading names in finance who are adopting and embracing the digital asset revolution.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Bitcoin Crashes as Russia Invades Ukraine
• U.S. Secret Service Launches ‘Crypto Awareness Hub’
• Thailand Stock Exchange to Launch Digital Asset Trading Platform
• Understanding Gold-Backed Cryptocurrencies
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Bitcoin Crashes as Russian Missiles Hit Kyiv

The price of Bitcoin plunged shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” against Ukraine in what appears to be a full-scale invasion of the country.

In a televised speech, President Putin warned the United States and NATO against getting involved, saying that anyone who “tries to interfere with us, or even more so, to create threats  for our country and our people, must know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never before experienced in your history.”

BTC’s price dropped from around $39,000 over the last 24-hour period to a $34,000 low before moving up to $35,500, where it’s currently trading at the time of writing. European equities markets opened down by around 3.5%, with Russia’s MOEX index plunging 45% on the announcement.

Russia’s military action has been met with condemnation from world leaders, with U.S. President Joe Biden saying the war would bring “catastrophic loss of life” and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying he was “appalled” by the “unprovoked attack.”

The U.S. and NATO are now expected to hit Russia with a broad sanction package, which could include disconnecting the country from the SWIFT network.

U.S. Secret Service Launches ‘Crypto Awareness Hub’

The U.S. Secret Service has launched a cryptocurrency awareness hub featuring educational tools to combat the “illicit use of digital assets as well as provide public awareness information on digital asset security and how to ensure it remains secure.”

The cryptocurrency awareness hub comes two years after the Secret Service formed the Finance-Related Cybercrime Task Force, which merely showed concern for the ways in which cryptocurrencies could be used to make illegal online transactions.

Secret Service Office of Investigations Assistant Director, Jeremy Sheridan, was quoted saying the hub focuses on “investigating financial crimes” and that it aims to “identify, arrest and prosecute those engaging in crimes involving digital assets.”

Within the new platform, the Secret Service conceded that “investments and transactions using cryptocurrencies and digital assets are not inherently criminal.”

Thailand Stock Exchange to Launch Digital Asset Trading Platform

The Stock Exchange of Thailand is reportedly planning to launch a digital asset trading platform, according to its president Dr. Pakorn Peetathawatchai. The stock exchange expects the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the platform “very soon.”

The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission is responsible for licensing entities wanting to offer cryptocurrency services in Thailand. Thailand’s stock exchange president detailed:

“For our digital asset exchange, we would concentrate on investment tokens and utility tokens — those are the things that have been in high demand in both local and international markets.”

When asked whether the digital asset exchange would directly list cryptocurrencies, Dr. Peetathawatchai said it would not and added that the exchange’s strength has “always been in the investment tools, investment vehicles.”

Understanding Gold-Backed Cryptocurrencies

A gold-backed cryptocurrency is a cryptoasset backed by real gold reserves. This means the cryptocurrency’s value is often equivalent to the value of the underlying gold backing it, and that an entity is behind the cryptocurrency ensuring there is gold in reserve.

Some gold-backed cryptocurrencies, like Paxos Gold (PAXG), allow investors to redeem their tokens for their equivalent in gold. These tokens are equivalent to a specific amount of grams or troy ounces of gold. In PAXG’s case, each token is backed by one fine troy ounce of the precious metal.

Most gold-backed cryptocurrencies are based on the Ethereum blockchain, existing as ERC-20 tokens on top of it. These tokens can, as such, be used on decentralized exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols that support them, increasing their usability.

Learn more about gold-backed cryptocurrencies via CryptoCompare’s guide.

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CryptoCompare's Digital Asset Summit is returning on 30th March at Old Billingsgate, London. As Europe's flagship institutional summit for digital assets, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with key industry decision-makers and leading names in finance who are adopting and embracing the digital asset revolution.

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