Cryptocurrency prices have fallen on Tuesday, with Bitcoin down 4.6 per cent to $3,804 and Ethereum down 6.9 per cent at $203, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The decline in crypto trading has been more severe than the market experienced after China announced its ban on cryptocurrency. The fall is primarily due to uncertainty over whether or not Russia will be sanctioned by
Cryptocurrency trading conducted on exchanges in rubles appears to decline as regulators remain adamant that Russians are using digital assets to evade sanctions. According to data from blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, on March 18, the trading volume of ruble-denominated cryptocurrencies fell by more than half from a recent peak of around $70 million on March 7.
The ruble-denominated trading volume of about $7.4 million is only a fraction of the global volume. The total daily supply of bitcoins averages between $20 billion and $40 billion. The importance of a cryptocurrency exchange in rubles on all sales.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday that there are signs that the Russians are trying to circumvent sanctions using cryptocurrencies. Lagarde did not provide specific examples. The data only shows the potential crypto activity of Russian investors on crypto exchanges, said Madeleine Kennedy, senior director of communications at Chainalysis. It does not include all transactions conducted on the blockchain.
Data provided by crypto firm Kaiko also shows that holdings of ruble-denominated stable coin Tether, the most popular ruble trading pair, are down from a March 7 high of around $38 million. Less than $5 million in rubles/U.S. dollars was reported on March 22, according to Kaiko.
The company also noted that only three global cryptocurrency exchanges – Binance, Yobit and LocalBitcoins – offer ruble-denominated cryptocurrency pairs. Cryptocurrency firm Elliptic previously said it found a digital wallet that could be connected to Russian officials and oligarchs under sanctions and turned the information over to authorities. The company’s co-founder said that cryptocurrencies cannot facilitate large-scale sanctions evasion for entities or individuals under sanctions.