Data from blockchain-analysis firms show that Russian denominated crypto purchasing and trading on major exchanges have faltered, debunking theories that the country will pivot to digital assets to circumvent sanctions.
When Bitcoin rallied over 15% last week, some industry experts attributed the surge to Russians buying cryptocurrency in the face of increasing economic sanctions. This theory seems to be proved false, however, as data from Chainalysis showed that ruble-denominated crypto trading volume was just $34.1 million on March 3, around half of a recent peak of $70.7 million a week ago on Feb. 24.