A third of Russians plan to enter crypto market and evade restrictions

GB Market Commentary 26/08/2022

by Marcus Sotiriou

Bitcoin is being sold off ahead of today’s Jackson Hole symposium, as mentioned In yesterday’s market commentary. Meanwhile, according to a poll, almost a third of Russians are ready to buy cryptocurrency in the next six months, despite there being no legal way to buy or sell cryptocurrencies in Russia right now.

Currency restrictions that were enforced by Russian authorities earlier this year due to the war in Ukraine, which hurt the Russian ruble, have accelerated crypto adoption in Russia.

Vassev, founder the Terracrypto forum which hosts discussions on mining, decentralized finance, and crypto legalization, said that many Russians continue to transfer money out of Russia using stablecoins or bitcoin and exchange it back for fiat currency in countries such as Georgia or the United Arab Emirates.

Crypto adoption is also progressing in South Africa, as the Prudential Authority of the Reserve Bank of South Africa has sent out guidelines which encourage banks not to cut all ties with cryptocurrency.

Previously, unclear regulations have resulted in some South African banks cutting ties with crypto asset service providers (CASPs), but the recent guidelines suggest that cutting ties could cause greater risk in the long run. This is because it would limit the ability to deal with money laundering and could be a threat to general financial integrity.

I think this is a very promising step in promoting crypto adoption in a nation where 10% of the population already hold cryptocurrency, according to Finder’s report released today.