Russian billionaires and wealthy Russians are being hit with heavy financial sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, leaving them with only Bitcoin as an option, according to Nigel Kusher , director of London-based law firm W Legal, which works with several Russian billionaires..
"The immediate problem they have is where are they going to move their money, they certainly don't want to move it to Russia"
“Some might buy Bitcoins, it's really complicated for them, but it's the only option. No bank in the world apart from a Russian bank will touch it once it's on the sanctions list, so where else could you put your money?"
Over the past week, cryptocurrency exchanges around the world have come under pressure to block transactions with Russia.
At the same time, trade between the Russian ruble and cryptocurrencies has more than doubled since the assault on Ukraine began, according to data from Chainalysis ..
Ukraine has asked major cryptocurrency exchanges to block Russian users, but they have so far resisted.
However, while coins stored on centralized exchanges like Coinbase or Binance could be frozen or seized, the relatively anonymous nature of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, combined with their decentralized structure, means it's impossible to completely lock people out of the system..
This week, the UK announced economic sanctions designed to cripple Russian state banks and companies.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden praised Western unity in the face of Russia's attack on Ukraine and warned that more economic sanctions could be on the way during his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. .
“We join our European allies in finding and seizing your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private planes,” Biden said. "We come for your ill-begotten gains."
Yesterday, the European Union added 26 wealthy Russians to its sanctioned list, so one wonders if these wealthy will see Bitcoin as an option.
Bitcoin price
Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin seems to be consolidating in the $43-45K zone, after rising sharply since the war over the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. In just three days, the price of BTC went from $37,500 to $45,500.
And, Nigel Green , founder and CEO of global financial advisory deVere Group, believes that Bitcoin will hit $50K by the end of this very month. Green believes that the price will continue to be driven by the war in Ukraine and the rise in institutional investment.
At the time of writing this article, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $43,220, down around 1.7% in the last 24 hours.
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