The cryptocurrency Bitcoin fell below the $100,000 mark for the first time since spring 2025.
On Tuesday, Bitcoin fell to around $99,954 on a number of crypto exchanges before partially recovering to above $101,000. The last time the cryptocurrency traded below six figures was in May.
Since setting a new record high above $126,000 in early October, Bitcoin has already fallen by more than 20%.
What is happening is the result of a number of circumstances.
There are now increasing outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to Bitcoin: since October 29, there have been outflows of about $1.3 billion from spot Bitcoin funds.
In addition, there are macroeconomic factors, including growing uncertainty surrounding the actions of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and expectations regarding interest rates.
The cryptocurrency market is currently facing a phase of increased volatility. Many investors and analysts are wondering whether a local correction point has been reached or whether the decline will continue. Some forecasts consider the possibility of a decline to the $75,000 range in the absence of liquidity inflows.
The business confidence indicator in the Ukrainian construction market rose by 3.8 percentage points (pp) in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the third quarter, to minus 28.6%, according to the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).
According to a survey of construction companies conducted by the agency, the assessment of the shortage of current orders improved by 5.6 p.p. to ‘minus’ 41.4%. Thus, 48.5% of the companies surveyed assessed their current order volume as normal for the season, while 47% assessed it as insufficient.
Forty-eight per cent of respondents expect prices for their services to increase in the fourth quarter of this year. Only 5% of respondents predict a decrease in the cost of construction work, while 47% do not expect any changes in pricing policy.
According to State Statistics Service data, the companies participating in the survey have an average of six months’ worth of orders, which corresponds to the pre-war figure at the beginning of 2022.
The statistics agency notes that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the construction industry will be negatively affected by labour shortages (55.2%), financial constraints (43.8%), insufficient demand (20.7%) and other factors (41.5%).
A third of the companies surveyed expect a reduction in the number of employees in October-December, while 54% believe that their number will remain unchanged, and 13% predict an expansion of staff.
According to the State Statistics Service, 35% of respondents noted an increase in the volume of construction work completed in the last quarter, while 24% reported a decrease in volumes.
The survey showed that 99% of Ukrainian construction companies find it quite difficult to predict future business developments.
The statistics do not include territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and parts of territories where hostilities are (were) ongoing.
According to Serbian Economist, the Montenegrin government has submitted amendments to the law on foreigners to parliament, which provide for stricter conditions for granting temporary residence and work permits. The aim is to link the extension of stay to the financial capacity of applicants and their real economic contribution.
According to the government’s explanations, the extension of temporary residence for property owners is planned to be linked to the cost and area of the property, and for company founders and directors – to confirmation of actual activity and payment of taxes. Closer coordination between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other agencies and international organizations is expected. The bill was supported by the relevant committee without any votes against, and the document will now be considered by the Skupština.
Context: Against the backdrop of a growing number of foreigners in 2024-2025, the government expanded electronic procedures and special statuses (in particular for digital nomads), while gradually raising the economic criteria for residence. After the first reading, subordinate legislation is expected to be introduced with methods for assessing real estate and verifying the economic activity of companies. Specific thresholds — the cost and area of housing, minimum tax indicators — will be announced separately.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of September 10, 2025, there are 100,867 foreigners living in the country: 71,250 with temporary residence and 29,617 with permanent residence.
The structure of temporary residence is dominated by citizens of Serbia, Russia, and Turkey; approximately 24,538 Serbs, 21,153 Russians, and 13,396 Turks.
In the first 11 months of 2024, 65,895 permits for temporary or permanent residence and work were issued.
As of June 1, 2024, nearly 5,000 Ukrainian citizens were under temporary protection; in 2025, 5,463 applications for renewal and 2,006 new applications were recorded.
Since the temporary protection regime came into force on March 11, 2022, 13,034 applications have been submitted, of which 12,302 have been approved (as of January 13, 2025).
Between January and August 2025, 69,826 Ukrainian citizens entered the country and 67,561 left; since the start of the full-scale war until January 13, 2025, 293,414 entered and about 292,500 left. Some Ukrainians are staying for other reasons (short-term, temporary, or permanent residence).
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/1681
The new Czech government is working on changes to the rules on temporary protection and social support for Ukrainian citizens: assistance will focus on those who are objectively unable to support themselves (the elderly, people with disabilities, parents with young children), while payments for those who are able to work but are unemployed may be reduced or cancelled, according to Czech media reports. The Ukrainian publication ZN.ua, citing Novinky.cz, reports that the government is also preparing to adjust the conditions for temporary protection status. The specific parameters of the reform have not yet been made public.
According to Novinky.cz and previous EU decisions, temporary protection for Ukrainians in the Czech Republic will remain in effect until at least March 2027. In previous years, the government has already adjusted humanitarian payments (through Lex Ukrajina) and announced a transition to a more ‘activating’ model of support that encourages employment.
In June, the European Union agreed to extend the temporary protection mechanism until March 2027; Czech ministers had previously confirmed their commitment to longer-term protection with gradually increasing integration requirements (work, education, housing). Against the backdrop of these changes, the government is preparing further technical amendments to the national package of laws known as Lex Ukrajina.
After the publication of the government draft (expected in autumn-winter), the document must undergo interdepartmental approval and parliament. Details of the amounts and criteria for payments will be known from the text of the draft law and accompanying methodological materials from the Ministry of Labour.
Under temporary protection: there are currently approximately 395-400 thousand people in the Czech Republic (current estimates by the Czech media based on data from the Ministry of the Interior; in February 2025, the UNHCR recorded about 390 thousand).
The total number of Ukrainian citizens with various types of residence (officially registered foreigners) is approximately 560-581 thousand (data from the Czech Ministry of the Interior for Q1-Q2 2025). Informal/incomplete records may vary due to seasonal migration and repeated departures and arrivals; the total estimate in public sources is approximately 600 thousand.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sense Bank’s long-term ratings at ‘CCC’ (foreign currency) and ‘CCC+’ (local currency) and maintained its viability rating at ‘ccc’, highlighting the gradual improvement in asset quality but also the continuing risks associated with the operating environment.
Sense Bank’s sovereign exposure remains high relative to its assets, with sovereign bonds (13%), NBU deposit certificates (23%), and loans to state-owned companies accounting for the bulk of its assets. Net loans accounted for 35% of assets, of which 43% were in foreign currency. After two years of decline, gross loans grew by 7% in the first half of 2025.
The bank’s third-degree (impaired) loan ratio improved to 35% at the end of the first half of 2025 (from 37% in 2024), with loan loss provisions covering 89% of impaired loans. Stage 2 loans decreased to 9% from 23% in 2022.
Sense Bank remains almost entirely funded by deposits, with retail deposits accounting for 42% of total deposits, which are fully covered by a government guarantee during the war and for three months after its end. Foreign currency deposits accounted for 34% and are mainly backed by high-quality liquid assets. The loan-to-deposit ratio was moderate at 59%, but is expected to increase as lending recovers.
“Despite the constraints associated with the war, Sense Bank has managed to stabilize its performance and improve its asset quality. However, the bank’s vulnerability to the operating environment remains high,” Fitch noted.
Sense Bank, formerly Alfa-Bank Ukraine, changed its name in 2023 after restructuring its ownership and bringing it into compliance with EU and US sanctions. As of September 2025, it ranked ninth among Ukrainian banks in terms of assets, with UAH 154.1 billion (3.9% of the sector’s total). The bank specializes in lending to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses and is regulated by the National Bank of Ukraine.
Associations of mining and metallurgical, other industrial and extractive enterprises, manufacturers of building materials and cement have spoken out against increases in freight and electricity tariffs due to the risk of enterprises shutting down or a significant drop in production.
They made this statement at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday on the topic of “The tariff policy of state monopolies – JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and NEC Ukrenergo, their negative impact on industry and the economy of Ukraine.”
Alexander Kalenkov, president of the Ukrmetallurgprom association of enterprises, noted that the consumers of the services of so-called natural monopolies are mining and metallurgical companies, cement producers, building materials manufacturers, and the like.
“These are the main customers of companies such as Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukrenergo. Before the war, the mining and metallurgical complex, together with ferroalloy plants, consumed about 60% of all electricity supplied to industry and transported more than 40% of the traffic provided by Ukrzaliznytsia. Therefore, we are dependent on the activities of these companies, just as they are dependent on us,” Kalenkov stated, expressing hope that in the future these markets will become more competitive and monopolies will be broken up. But until then, the state must ensure that these monopolies do not abuse their position, he believes.
The head of Ukrmetallurgprom emphasized that Ukraine has the highest electricity tariffs in Europe. “In practice, this means that we are losing the competitive struggle to all entrepreneurs from the EU. I am not even talking about companies located in countries that still consume Russian energy resources—there, prices are several times lower than ours, both for gas and electricity. And that is why we are losing our traditional markets,” Kalenkov stressed.
As for railway tariffs, he said that they are currently cheaper in Poland and Slovenia than in Ukraine. “We already transport cargo by Ukrzaliznytsia at a cost that is 15-20% higher than in Europe, and there are plans to increase tariffs by another 37%. This is not only economically unreasonable and unjustified, it is a dead end,” Kalenkov said.
In his opinion, the tariff policy of Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukrenergo requires attention at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada. Ideally, an independent body on transport tariffs, similar to the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission, should be created. To subsidize passenger transportation, UAH 26 billion should be allocated in the budget for 2026 so as not to increase freight tariffs. Otherwise, due to the increase in tariffs, our enterprises will begin to reduce production or exit the market.
Executive Director of the Ukrainian Cement Manufacturers Association (Ukrcement) Lyudmila Kripka emphasized that two-thirds of the cement produced in Ukraine, as well as the raw materials for it, are delivered by rail. Therefore, the industry is very sensitive to unjustified increases in freight tariffs.
“We have already gone down this road, such actions have already had negative consequences in the past, and this time there will be no miracles either. This will lead to negative consequences. Manufacturers will be forced to pass on the increase in tariffs to their products, that is, to the end consumer. This will reduce consumption of products and, consequently, reduce their production and transportation,” Kripka stressed.
At the same time, she pointed out the need to develop state support instruments for energy-intensive export-oriented industries as a temporary anti-crisis measure. According to her, technical and economic criteria should be introduced specifically for enterprises in priority industries. At the same time, the funds saved from the reduction in tariffs for electricity transmission and dispatching could be directed towards investment in our own renewable energy sources.
“In this way, we would fulfill the decarbonization targets set for us by the European Union,” Kripka stated.
She cited data from the state-owned company Ukrpromvneshexpertiza, according to which a 30% increase in freight tariffs would lead to a reduction in GDP of almost UAH 100 billion, a loss of foreign exchange earnings of UAH 98 billion, annual budget losses of more than UAH 36 billion, and the elimination of at least 76,000 jobs.
Sergey Kudryavtsev, executive director of the Ukrainian Association of Ferroalloy Producers (UkrFA), noted that the majority of ferroalloy enterprises are located along the shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir, i.e., in an area close to the combat zone, where working conditions are extremely difficult. In particular, manganese plants have been idle for two years.
“We cannot transport raw materials to ferroalloy plants because the railway lines have been destroyed. And we cannot pay to transport the raw materials needed for ferroalloy production by detours. Ferroalloy plants are currently operating at 15-20% of their capacity. This situation will lead to the end of ferroalloy production in Ukraine. Imported alloys will be brought to us, and the workers will be left without jobs,” Kudryavtsev said.
According to him, this frontline zone is currently being held together thanks to the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant (NFP), Nikopol pipe and metallurgical enterprises, but it could become “gray” if people leave.
“Today, we have problems with production, logistics, staff shortages, and electricity. This is a region that used to produce electricity, but today we get it from western Ukraine. The tariff is unaffordable for us. Therefore, we are in a situation where we may have to shut down, and it will not be possible to recover. Enterprises are currently operating at 15% capacity, maintaining a continuous process. Because if you stop a ferroalloy furnace, it will take six months to start it up again,” added the executive director of UkrFA.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/live/ATmga3Sdn3g
ELECTRICITY, FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION, KUDRYAVTSEV, TARIFF, КАЛЕНКОВ, КРИПКА
