As international sanctions plummet the value of the Russian currency and threaten the country’s economy, the Bitcoin BTC/USD enthusiast community is having its say on Russia, sanctions and limitations on cryptocurrencies.
Focus On A Non Event: Kyle Schneps, a former diplomat and director of public policy at Foundry, a Digital Currency Group Company, said, “Ukraine is using Bitcoin to defend its citizens from invasion and sustain its democratic way of life.” He pointed out that what wasn't happening was Russia using cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions.
“Why does the media focus more on what is NOT happening than on what is happening?”
Notably, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov had requested all major cryptocurrency exchanges to block accounts of Russian users.
Damage Oligarchs, Not People: Bitcoin developer Peter Todd noted that cutting Russia off from the SWIFT network does “more damage to large concentrations of power than to individuals, and that Bitcoin helps individuals more than oligarchs.”
Stuck In A Limbo: Even if ordinary Russians manage to move their cryptocurrencies, they might not be able to cash them out and may have to resort to hodling says OANDA Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya.
“The White House and Treasury are also looking to make it harder for Russians to use crypto to get their money out of Russia,” said Moya in a note, seen by Benzinga.
“The fact is that some Russians have already done that and now they will be stuck hodling until sanctions are removed, because they don't want to risk getting caught and losing their entire crypto investment.”
Intrinsic Value On Display: On Monday evening, The President of El Salvador and Bitcoin bull Nayib Bukele tweeted that the “intrinsic value of [Bitcoin] is now in full display on the whole world.”
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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