Russia is in the process of being cut off from the international monetary system with people in Moscow already barred from exchanging rubles into dollars or euros.
That leaves bitcoin as one potential connector with it earlier developing a premium of $1,000 to $2,000 in the ruble trading pair depending on the exchange used.
That’s while ruble calmed a bit, but it is again headed towards 90 per dollar now that trading has reopened.
This has wiped out the premium almost instantly and now it’s even trading at a bit of a discount as bitcoin’s price goes for circa 3,075,774 in rubble, worth $35,353 at the exchange rate of 87 per dollar, while the global price is $35,700.
That indicates bitcoin was potentially used as an arbitrage method between rub and usd with demand rising for bitcoin while the dollar wasn’t available.
Incoming sanctions therefore might potentially detach bitcoin’s global price from its price in Russia where there might be more demand for bitcoin as the only liquid and easily accessible asset outside their plunging national fiat money.
Those sanctions are yet to be specified but the EU commission has said they will target the financial and energy sector.
With Russia now an aggressor waging war on freedom and democracy, it may be very difficult for any country to give even one penny more to bloodthirsty invading Vladimir Putin.
Europe therefore may well stop buying gas, oil, or indeed anything from Russia as Ursula von der Leyen says: “We will weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize.”
Even before the implementation of those sanctions, Russian stocks have completely crashed today, down 40% in just one day, their lowest level since 2005.
Almost two decades thus just wiped out, and the worst may be yet to come as Russian companies and individuals may be left with nothing but bitcoin to maintain some of their wealth as the nation goes to full scale war.
While in Russia, protests have broken out, they shout “No to war!” as seen below:
