Bitcoin Trading Volume Reportedly Spikes In Russia And Ukraine

Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes against the Russian ruble and Ukrainian hryvnia have soared, amid the geopolitical situation.

While NATO and EU have vowed not to send troops to Ukraine, they imposed severe monetary sanctions on Russia, aiming to destabilize it and cut its financial connection with the West.

The embargoes been aimed at Russia’s economy and the country’s national currency – ruble, which has fallen approx. 25% in a matter of 24 hours.

According to data from Kaiko, a crypto market data provider, bitcoin is becoming attractive in the region after the sanctions. The trading volumes of BTC/RUB peaked at the highest level since May 2021, while those using the Ukrainian hryvnia topped the October peak.

Clara Medalie, the head of Kaiko research commented:

“The trend follows a wave of sanctions against Russia, which has disrupted forex markets and caused the ruble to sink to records law against the dollar.”

According to Medalie, BTC’s overall trading volume also surged in the past seven days. The increased activity for BTC/UAH and BTC/RUB trading pairs was “magnitudes greater” than the BTC/USD one, she pointed out.

According to some experts, the financial uncertainty in the region will cause Russians to potentially convert their money into digital assets. In anticipation of this, Ukraine’s Vice PM appealed crypto exchanges to freeze addresses of Russian users.

Many leading crypto exchanges responded they will not plan to do so. Kraken’s CEO Jesse Powell pointed out that bitcoin represents libertarian values, and that his company cannot block customers’ accounts without a legal requirement. He also made a point that many Russian-based users are likely to be against the war.

Binance also announced that “crypto is meant to provide greater financial freedom,” and an initiative like this would oppose the concept of the asset class.