Bitcoin booms as the rouble tumbles: What role is crypto playing in the Ukraine war?
As Russia's rouble buckles under sanctions, Bitcoin and other digital currencies are rising, stoking speculation that their use could help Moscow bypass the West's economic blockade.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked a slew of economic sanctions from governments around the world, sending the Russian currency plunging to record lows and raising the spectre of hyperinflation.
Meanwhile, crypto trading has risen, with Ukraine calling for donations in digital currencies to back its war effort, and raising more than $35 million (€31.5 million) so far, according to the blockchain analysis firm Elliptic.
In February, Ukraine's parliament passed a law legalising the use of cryptocurrency, and the country now ranks fourth in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption, according to the blockchain data platform Chainalysis.
The market capitalisation of Bitcoin worldwide now exceeds that of the rouble, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
That means that all of the Bitcoin traded worldwide is worth, together, more than all of the roubles in circulation worldwide.
The Russian currency is currently ranked 17th in market value, behind the Thai baht and the Mexican peso.
The rouble is now worth even less than Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that was initially created as a joke poking fun at the wild speculation surrounding cryptocurrencies.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced his country was now also accepting donations in Dogecoin, also dubbed the "meme coin".
Western allies have sought to punish Russia for its attack with harsh financial sanctions, excluding some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system and freezing Russia’s central bank reserves.
The sanctions have caused the rouble to
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