Bitcoin has become a safe haven to Russians. Interests rates to 20%. A collapsing ruble. No more SWIFT. Big business is leaving. Assets and banks accounts frozen.
I’m glad crypto currencies exist right now for those in need.
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It is the reason they were created in the first place. I’d say lots of governments are itching for more regulations especially after this now
Many of the exchanges refusing to stop everyday Russian’s from using the platforms either. Why should they outside of the sanctions placed on obvious associates of Putin. Now more than ever crypto is for everyone to help level the playing field.
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Of course the governments want to stop the flow of Russian money and oligarch money, circumventing sanctions.
This is a tough situation. Payment methods and transfers are drying up for the regular people. Remittances are large portion of GDP for neighboring countries. Those citizens and families of workers in Russia are probably already feeling the squeeze.
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It creates a moral dilemma for the crypto exchanges. On the one hand the whole point of crypto was to give power back to the people like ordinary Russians that didn’t ask for the war and sanctions but unfortunately it seems quite clear the sudden recovery in BTC and ETH was due to Russian oligarch money flooding into them from actionable assets.
I tend to agree with this. Oligarchs can afford smart investment professionals that will help them hide their wealth, even through the use of crypto currencies.
Exactly, will be the everyday Russians that are hit hardest.
Key points I took for that release:
According to the Biden administration this could have “implications for the centrality of the US dollar in the global financial system”.
Earlier there have been reports, cited by CNBC, about a dispute between White House officials and and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the subject of how to regulate the crypto market, which lead to a delay of the new policy.
In addition the Biden administration has tasked the Department of Commerce with “establishing a framework to drive U.S. competitiveness and leadership in, and leveraging of digital asset technologies.”
I think the first point is most important. It’s about maintaining the control the US dollar has on the global financial system. Full stop.
Point two, reveals that Yellen and co had their own ideas on crypto regulation, and crypto in general, but the Administration weren’t on the same page. Yellen is on record as not being a huge fan of cryptocurrencies because of the potential to be exploited and used for illicit activity.
Point three, Biden sees opportunity in digital assets and wants the US to be competitive. If anything, this could be completely related to CBDCs and staying relatively close to the advancement of other governments on that front, mainly China, or, it could hopefully mean Biden sees opportunity outside of CBDCs and with assets such as BTC or ETH or whatever else is out there.
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I agree with you. I also wonder when we will see a digital dollar. The Chinese seem to be ready with the digital Yuan.
What is the current price they are paying now? is it still above market price?
The reality:
Using crypto in the middle of a crisis isn’t necessarily easy. For one thing, you need an internet connection and a working device. You also need to know how to use crypto, which has a steep learning curve and is something people aren’t going to be able to pick up quickly in moments of crisis. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, and they don’t all work the same way. Crypto also has to be available to buy: In February, even wealthier Ukrainians were reportedly having trouble buying Tether, a digital currency that’s pegged to the US dollar. And if you’re only converting other assets you own into crypto now, the rest of the financial system needs to be working, too.
“It might work for some people, but they need first to unfreeze their assets, transfer them into digital currency, and then manage to get out [of the country], which is actually the main problem right now,” Coppi said. “And then when they’re out, hope it hasn’t devalued too much.”
Me and you have been following that one for sure. They’re ahead of the curve. They see the writing on the wall and they want the control.
As for crypto helping Russia or Ukraine, I think both. Russian citizens have seen destabilization of their currency. and Ukrainians, looking for safe travel without having to carry all their cash, both look to cryptocurrencies. I read a story for a fleeing Ukrainian man converted all his cash to cryptocurrency at the start of the war, and he made it through a Russian check-point in eastern Ukraine with basically the clothes on his back. He simply remembered the seed phrase to his wallet, and which kept all of his money out of the hands of enemy soldiers. That’s only a single story, so I’m not sure how many people have similar stories.
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I agree. I also think digital dollar and euros are very late to the party and that is a little concerning.
I wonder what the rate is right now?
It must still be high. Sanctions on Russia and ordinary citizens continues. The US is starting to target crypto miners, which will hurt the industry overall, but I don’t think it keeps citizens from getting money out. I think Russia will do whatever it takes to keep it’s citizen’s money from leaving the country, whether we hear about it or not.
Oh, that’s for certain. They want to prop up the ruble as much as possible. They just cut the gas to Poland because Poland refused to pay in rubles.
Energy diversification will hopefully help keep governments from using energy as a weapon. In the short term, there’s no fix except higher prices and the eventuality of more cold showers.
Since the resultant sanctions have excluded some Russian banks from SWIFT Global Payment Network. This has led to the significant dip in Ruble against the US dollar.
At this moment cryptocurrency has become the hope for many people.
SWIFT exclusion definitely makes the work harder, but not impossible. There are ways around SWIFT. And many countries still need the gas purchases, so they will figure out how to make payments even without SWIFT,