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Good Monday morning. Billy Bambrough here with what's driving the day in the world of crypto and what to look out for this week.

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24-hour crypto market snapshot
Bitcoin (+0.5%) $38,479
Ethereum (-2%) $2,549
XRP (+2%) $0.7494
Solana (-3%) $83.61
Back track 🚧
Cryptocurrency prices are broadly flat this morning following a tumultuous weekend even as the escalating situation in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia drive interest in bitcoin as an alternative to centralized financial systems.

The bitcoin price is up slightly on this time yesterday with ethereum down just over 2%. Ethereum rival solana is leading the major market lower, down 3%, while Ripple's XRP is up 2%. Coins linked to decentralized finance (DeFi) projects have fallen sharply after prolific DeFi developer Andre Cronje said he's quitting the space. See below for details.

Meanwhile, the price of oil has risen to its highest level since 2008 after U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken yesterday said Washington was in "very active discussions" with its European partners about a ban on oil imports from Russia.

Watch this: Can ethereum topple bitcoin as the crypto king?
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Payment problems 💳
Visa, Mastercard and PayPal have all said they are suspending operations in Russia, potentially pushing more people towards bitcoin and crypto.
Visa, Mastercard and PayPal have all said they are suspending operations in Russia, potentially pushing more people towards bitcoin and crypto. DPA/PICTURE ALLIANCE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Cash is king: Payment giants Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal suspended Russia operations over the weekend following a request from Ukraine’s president, furthering Russia's financial isolation from the West and potentially pushing Russia closer to China. Read the full story on Forbes.

Why it matters: Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have been thrust into the spotlight over the last week as global financial sanctions on Russia come into force and countries weigh the cost of relying on a financial system that can be turned off by lawmakers in Washington or CEOs in New York and Silicon Valley. Over the last week, trading between Russia's ruble and cryptocurrencies has soared, according to data from Chainalysis, a crypto research company.

What's being said: "[The Visa and Mastercard shutdown] is a bigger earthquake than SWIFT," tech lawyer Preston Byrne posted to Twitter, adding "trillions of dollars are going to be made building a mirror system that doesn’t respond to American pressure." "Every cultural sphere that isn’t the U.S. or China will build national stacks for social media, shopping, and the like as part of its digital defense strategy," tech investor Balaji Srinivasan predicted via Twitter. "But they won't have the scale to be globally competitive on their own. They’ll need to hook into bitcoin/web3 for that."

Zoom out: Crypto is facing a "staying power" test of its "revived refuge status," according to Bloomberg as the bitcoin price falls. "It’s a monetary asset that you can bring with you and not be subject to the banking system," Jeremy Schwartz, global chief investment officer at WisdomTree Investments told the newswire. "A lot of what’s happening in Russia I think helps illustrate for people the value of bitcoin."

But but but... Last week, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that the Biden administration is considering imposing sanctions on Russia’s bitcoin and cryptocurrency market. Some of the world's biggest cryptocurrency companies and exchanges have come under pressure to block off access to their services from Russia, however, the likes of U.S.-based Coinbase and Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, have so far refused.

The bottom line: Some in the world of crypto like to imagine the technology gives them some power to evade laws, sanctions or regulations. At the point of a gun or under the threat of imprisonment, however, digital assets become as subject to government control as everything else.

Now read this: Bitcoin Is Showing The Power Of Decentralized Money
DeFi drama 🎭
🙇 The world of decentralized finance (DeFi) was rocked over the weekend by news high-profile developer Andre Cronje and his partner Anton Nell are bowing out of the space. Cronje, the self-styled "DeFi architect" has built dozens of DeFi apps and rose to prominence as the founder of the yield optimization protocol Yearn.Finance.

🐦 "Andre and I have decided that we are closing the chapter of contributing to the DeFi/crypto space," Nell posted to Twitter, adding it was "a decision that has been coming for a while now." The price of DeFi-linked coins broadly have dipped on the news the pair would be handing over ownership or decommissioning the websites they control. The DeFi protocols they built will continue to run as normal, however.

🤌 Meanwhile, internet marketeer Tai Lopez has been accused of a non-fungible token (NFT) cash-grab.

Now read this: This social club runs on crypto tokens and vibes
The week ahead 📅
👀 Look out for these cryptocurrency and crypto-related events this week.

☢️ Today, the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors meets in Vienna with the nuclear implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine topping the agenda.
- Vladimir Putin And Russia Could Trigger ‘Nuclear Apocalypse’ And ‘Armageddon’—But Investors Told To ‘Stay Bullish’

📜 Also today, U.K. lawmakers will vote on an economic crime bill that's mostly about the identity of foreign property owners but will also update money-laundering rules to include cryptocurrencies.

📱 Tomorrow, Apple is expected to unveil new versions of its iPhone, iPad, and Mac at its Peek Performance event. The Verge has a primer.

🤑 On Thursday, February's consumer price index (CPI) data drops with the crisis in Ukraine pushing prices even higher over the last couple of weeks.
- U.S. inflation is at a 40-year high. Russia’s war will only make it worse

💌 This Saturday, the godfather of the internet Sir Tim Berners-Lee will publish his annual letter marking the world wide web’s 33rd birthday. He'll address the state of the web and his vision for its future.

Good to know: The great and powerful Woz says bitcoin is the only 'pure-gold' cryptocurrency
hello world
Billy Bambrough
Forbes Senior Contributor
I am a journalist with significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business. I write about how bitcoin, crypto and blockchain can change the world.
Follow me on Twitter or email me.
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