After the EU, Canada, and the US agreed to remove selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, the crypto trading between Russian Ruble and Tether (USDT) stablecoin is on the rise as national currency crumbles on Monday amid sanctions.
According to a Reuters report on Monday, February 28th, Ruble-dominated with the Tether (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin by market cap, has reached $29.4 million, which is the highest this year and around three times more than a week earlier.
Ruble and Tether Pair (USDT/RUB) Spikes
Data shows that Tether (USDT) witnessed a spike of over 30% in five days against the Russian Ruble. Binance data suggests that USDT/RUB pair hit a 24-hour high of $105.29 for the first time in history on Monday, February 28. The 24-hour trading volume for USDT/RUB is over $34 million as of writing.
The surge in the exchange between the Russian Ruble and Tether (USDT) follows the NATO allies’ sanctions that have to remove selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system. The allies have also threatened to freeze the assets of the Russian Central Bank which could make Russian national currency worthless.
Second, we will paralyse the assets of Russia’s central bank.
This will freeze its transactions.
And it will make it impossible for the Central Bank to liquidate its assets. pic.twitter.com/8H9eWkNCW9— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 26, 2022
Following the announcement of sanctions, the Russian Ruble tumbled to a record low in volatile trade on Monday, losing a third of its value so far this year. As inflation has started to hit the Russian economy, people holding Ruble are trying to save themselves from drastic devaluations.
Reuters’ report cites Bendik Norheim Schei, Head of Research at Arcane Crypto, who said:
“Under the current market conditions, I’m not surprised to see investors, at least those in Russia, seeking stablecoins and not taking on the market risk of BTC. This is about saving their funds, not investing.”
However, data suggests that BTC-dominated trades against the Ruble have also been on the rise, surging to 1.5 billion RUB on Thursday, February 24, which is at its highest levels since May 2021.
Cryptocurrency Market Posts Strong Recovery Amid the Crises
As the traditional banking and the financial system are in chaos, the crypto is again proving its worth as a viable financial system not only as an efficient payment system but also as a hedge against the negative financial impacts.
Amid the crises, Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency market are posting strong gains after the initial nosedive on the day the invasion began. Rejecting the fears of falling below $30,000, BTC rose back to $40,000 on late Monday.
According to CoinMarketCap, the crypto king is 14.34% up in the last 24-hours and is changing hands above $43,000. Ethereum’s (ETH) price has increased more than 11% over the last day to reach above $2,900. Terra (LUNA) is the highest gainer in the top-10 list that has risen 24% in the last 24-hours to trade $1 below $90 per coin as of writing.
