The outbreak of war in Ukraine has prevented people in Russia from accessing cryptocurrency exchanges. But they now access it via the black market, in order to dodge economic sanctions. Sales of cryptocurrency accounts have thus exploded, according to several local experts.
In Russia, cryptocurrency accounts are traded under the cloak
The outbreak of war in Ukraine has prevented people in Russia from accessing cryptocurrency exchanges. But they now access it via the black market, in order to dodge economic sanctions. Sales of cryptocurrency accounts have thus exploded, according to several local experts.
Cryptocurrency accounts: a rare commodity in Russia
Major exchange platforms such as Binance, Coinbase and Kraken have closed their doors to the Russian market since the outbreak of war in Ukraine almost a year ago, in order to comply with financial sanctions. The economic suffocation campaign carried out by the international community heavily hit the Russian economy : the ruble has seen its value plunge, and access to foreign currencies has been severely limited.
According to an article by local media Kommersant, selling verified cryptocurrency accounts on online platforms so exploded. Russians go through alternative marketplaces to obtain access, and thus be able to obtain cryptocurrencies. Account sales offers have doubled since 2022, according to Nikolay Chursin, an analyst at Positive Technologies. They are sometimes accompanied by offers of false verification documents, in order to pass the KYC tests of the exchanges.
A “classic” account would currently be exchanged for around fifty dollars. A verified account, with related identification documents, can sell for 300 dollars. The older an account is, with a history of activity, the higher it trades.
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Individuals forced to turn to cryptocurrencies
According to analysts, these accounts are routinely sold on alternative markets, and have historically been used for money laundering purposes by criminals. But since last year, it is many private users who have these illegal accounts. For the Russians, the challenge is to save their savingsfaced with a falling ruble rate, and an inability to access dollars.
Bitcoin (BTC) and its consorts have therefore become particularly attractive, and residents of Russia are willing to pay hefty sums to access it. Cryptocurrencies were indeed created precisely to be accessible wherever one is located, and freely exchangeable. We are witnessing the same phenomenon in other territories, particularly in South America, where the phenomena of hyperinflation are pushing local populations to find alternatives.
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Source: Kommersant via Bitcoin.com
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