"If the U.S. sees that Russians are using Bitcoin to avoid sanctions, it may ban it."

Bitcoin maintains its price rally on Wednesday amid the Russia-Ukraine war conflict and evidence that both countries are using cryptoassets for various purposes related to the Russian attack and international sanctions. Bitcoin trading in rubles and hryvnas is at record highs as experts warn that electronic assets may provide a safe haven for Russians.

All these developments gave wings to electronic currencies, which performed frankly well amid the chaos unleashed on global financial markets. After the initial sell-off last week, when the first news of the attacks transcended, the whales defended the price around $35,000, from where they recovered to almost $45,000 on Tuesday. As for Ethereum, the behavior has been similar, with a high on March 1st at $3,000, while the total capitalization exceeds $1.9 trillion and is eyeing $2 trillion.

The two largest capitalization digital currencies retreat slightly on Wednesday, with Bitcoin above $44,000 and Ether - the Ethereum network unit - below $3,000, but analysts are betting on further rises in the heat of tensions in Ukraine. Specifically, it is likely to reach $50,000 before the end of the month, according to Nigel Green ofVere Group. "In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin rose more than $6,000 at one point to over $44,000, its biggest daily increase since February 2021," he noted, so he believes "we can expect to see Bitcoin reach $50,000 by the end of the month."

"Traders believe that people in Russia and Ukraine are actually behind the current rally in Bitcoin. But one crucial factor to note when it comes to the Bitcoin price is that if the US begins to see that Russians are using Bitcoin as a means of avoiding sanctions, it is highly likely that the US may push for a coordinated action to ban Bitcoin," stated Naeem Aslam, head of analytics at AvaTrade.

"Banning Bitcoin under that scenario will bring much higher volatility in the BTC price. It may rock the whole financial market because many companies have massive balance sheet exposure in Bitcoin. But it is undoubtedly one thing that traders need to watch out for," the expert added.

From the technical analysis point of view, "it is still too early to start to throw caution to the wind, but there is no doubt that the sensations are getting better with each passing day," commented José María Rodríguez, technical analyst at Bolsamanía. "But until it jumps clearly above $46,000, nothing has happened here," he added.

Green has also referred to some reports suggesting that institutions - which bring huge capital, expertise and reputational clout - are now the dominant cryptocurrency traders. "As more and more institutional investors take control of the sector, credibility increases, trading volumes go up and volatility goes down, this is all good news for everyday investors."

The deVere CEO concluded that the events of the past few days have highlighted the key characteristics of Bitcoin, which include being borderless, permissionless, censorship-resistant and non-confiscatable.