According to reports and data stemming from ruble-denominated crypto trading pairs, Russian citizens are flocking toward cryptocurrencies amid the conflict in Ukraine. Analytical data indicates that the ruble is the sixth most traded pair with tether and tether’s fourth most traded fiat-denominated pair globally excluding two crypto assets.
Report Highlights Russian Rubles Pouring Into Tether, Data Shows Binance’s RUB-Denominated Crypto Trading Pairs Rising
24 hours ago, Bitcoin.com News reported an increase in ruble (RUB)-denominated crypto volumes and further investigation shows the trend has continued. According to a report by vice.com author Ekin Genç, metrics sent to Motherboard by Arcane Research indicate that USDT/RUB trading volume has increased. A number of other data points show similar results as ruble trading volume increased in the crypto ecosystem.
A report published by the Wall Street Journal reporter, Paul Vigna, shows that between February 20 and 28, bitcoin volume jumped by 243% from 522 bitcoin (BTC) to roughly 1,792 BTC traded via Binance’s BTC/RUB pair. Vigna also highlighted a Russian government study that estimated Russians held 2 trillion rubles ($20 billion) worth of crypto assets.
On March 1, 2022, data from analytics provider Coin Dance shows that Localbitcoins.com’s weekly trading volume increased from the previous week. Coincko.com metrics show that Binance has the highest volume in terms of RUB-denominated crypto trading pairs. USDT/RUB, BTC/RUB, and ETH/RUB trading volume on Binance grew in terms of other trading pairs on the exchange.
In 24 hours Binance recorded $16,871,804 in USDT/RUB trade volume, $5,740,109 in BTC/RUB trades, and $3,429,714 in ether swaps with the ruble. On Tuesday, cryptocompare.com trading pair analytics show the Russian ruble is tether’s (USDT) sixth most traded pair. USDT/RUB trades represent 2.05% of all the tether trades worldwide during the last day.
Excluding WBNB and HUSD, the ruble is the fourth largest Tether trading pair in the world. When it comes to bitcoin (BTC), the data indicates that the ruble is the 21st in terms of the best BTC trading pairs in the world. Ruble swaps account for 0.05% of current BTC transactions and 0.08% of Ethereum transactions. The data further shows BUSD/RUB trades on March 1, which equates to 0.31% of the day’s BUSD swaps.
Tether, Bitcoin, Ethereum Still Trade for a Premium Against Hryvnia Pairs, Localbitcoins Exchange Drops Fees for Ukrainian Users
Additionally, USDT, BTC, and ETH are all still trading for a premium in terms of hryvnia swaps via Kuna exchange. Ukrainian Localbitcoins trade volume has ticked up slightly since the week prior, and BTC is selling for a premium for trades applied to hryvnia on the exchange as well. In a message emailed to Bitcoin.com News, the Localbitcoins.com team has announced that trading fees for Ukrainian traders have been waived.
“The core value of Localbitcoins is freedom,” wrote Jukka Blomberg, Marketing Director of Localbitcoins. “We understand that Ukraine is going through extremely difficult times at the moment. For this reason, Localbitcoins has removed all fees from its Ukrainian users,” the CMO added.
19 days ago on February 10, 2022, the Russian ruble was exchanging hands for $0.01334, but RUB has lost 33.09% against the U.S. dollar since then, as it now trades for $0.009047.
Reports note that the Russian economy could soon resemble 1998 when the country needed help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Financial author Charles Archer explains that cutting Russia off from the SWIFT international payment network “has left Russia’s $630 billion in reserves, stored mostly in foreign currencies, unusable.
