Ukraine is ready to make a deal, US President Donald Trump said while addressing the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland via teleconference.

Trump was answering a question from WEF President Borge Brende as to whether there will be a peace agreement by the time of next year’s meeting in Davos.

On Wednesday Trump had threatened new sanctions and high import tariffs, urging Russia to bring the Ukraine conflict to an end and strike a deal. He also had proclaimed his “love” for the Russian people and insisted he was “not looking to hurt Russia.”

The Kremlin sees nothing new in Trump’s threats of sanctions and tariff increases, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on Thursday.

Peskov emphasized that Russia remains open to “an equal and mutually respectful dialogue,” similar to the exchanges that occurred between Putin and Trump during his first term. “We are waiting for signals, which have not yet been received,” he said.

Trump’s pick for US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said on Monday that he could not say when the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev would end, but said each side would have to concede “something” in order to resolve the conflict.

Trump has repeatedly promised to stop the fighting between Moscow and Kiev within 24 hours after he’s back in office. Midway through his inauguration day on Monday, the US president was asked by journalists whether he would be able to keep the promise. Trump joked that “it’s only half a day” and he has “another half a day left,” adding “We will see.”

In the weeks leading up to his inauguration, Trump adjusted his timeline for resolving the conflict, expressing hope to negotiate peace within six months. His nominee for envoy on the Ukraine conflict, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, suggested that a deal could be brokered within 100 days of the inauguration.

In recent weeks, US media outlets have reported that Trump’s team is mulling a peace plan for Ukraine which could include a ceasefire along the current front lines and the creation of an 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) demilitarized zone patrolled by European troops.

Earlier this week, the Russian leader commended Trump’s intention to resume contacts between Moscow and Washington, which had been halted by the Biden administration. Moscow has never “refused dialogue” with Washington and has always expressed readiness to deal with any US administration, the president noted.

Source: Rt.com

Bitcoin could reach an astonishing $700,000 if institutional investors allocate between 2% and 5% of their portfolios to the cryptocurrency, Larry Fink, the head of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, has predicted.

The digital coin has seen a surge in its value in recent months. In 2024, its price jumped 121%, reaching the peak of $108,135 in December. On Monday, following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, Bitcoin hit a record $109,225. Trump had previously announced plans to make the US the world’s “crypto capital” and to set up a national Bitcoin reserve.

The financier said he was “a big believer” in the world’s largest cryptocurrency as an instrument, highlighting its potential as a financial hedge.

“If you’re frightened of the debasement of your currency, or you’re frightened of the economic or political stability of your country, you can have an internationally based instrument called Bitcoin that will overcome those local fears,” Fink said during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.

The investor cited a momentum towards institutional adoption of the cryptocurrency.

“I was with a sovereign-wealth fund during this week, and there was a conversation, should we have a 2% allocation? Should we have a 5% allocation? If everybody adopted that conversation, it would be $500,000, $600,000, $700,000 for bitcoin,” argued Fink. The investor noted that he wasn’t promoting the token.

Last year, BlackRock launched Bitcoin Trust and Ethereum Trust, exchange-traded funds investing directly into the two crypto tokens.

Fink used to be skeptical of digital assets. In 2018, he told Bloomberg that BlackRock’s clients had zero interest in crypto.

Created in 2009, Bitcoin allows people to send and receive money over the internet without relying on traditional banks or governments. The decentralized nature of the token has also facilitated its misuse by organized crime gangs and for other illicit purposes such as money laundering and terrorist financing.

The price is primarily affected by supply, market demand, availability, competing cryptocurrencies, and investor sentiment.

Despite wide use for buying goods and services, there are no uniform international laws that regulate Bitcoin. The token was adopted as official currency in El Salvador in 2021.

Governments around the world have been wary of the cryptocurrencies’ growing influence, warning about the dangers of investing into a volatile asset.

According to an opinion piece by financial analyst Susie Violet Ward published by Forbes on Monday, Bitcoin’s institutionalization would compromise its original ethos as “freedom money,” with regulatory and economic control eroding the token’s decentralization.

Source: Rt.com

We give you energy news and help invest in energy projects too, click here to learn more

Crude Oil, LNG, Jet Fuel price quote

ENB Top News 
ENB
Energy Dashboard
ENB Podcast
ENB Substack