As the value of Russia’s currency, the ruble, continues to fall due to international sanctions against the country, several cryptocurrencies have risen due to Russians turning to them as alternatives.
As reported by CNN, Bitcoin saw the largest jump on Tuesday, with a 13 percent increase to a current share value of $43,163. Other cryptos that rose over the last few days include Ethereum, which rose 10 percent to $2,878, while Dogecoin rose 6 percent to 13 cents.
While cryptocurrencies are generally considered unreliable, prone to frequent rising and falling, the latest spike appears to be the direct result of Russians affected by international sanctions turning to such alternatives that are not as easily regulated by most governments.
Bendik Schei, head of research at Oslo-based cryptocurrency research firm Arcane, said that Russian investors are “trying to get out of the ruble” in order to escape “drastic devaluation after all the sanctions.”
“This is where they find the most comfort at the moment,” Schei continued. “Under the current market conditions…This is about saving their funds, not investing.”
The sweeping sanctions, issued by most major governments around the world, are in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which began last month. After eight years of tensions between the two nations starting with the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine back in 2014, disputes over various territories with large Russian populations culminated in a full-scale invasion by Russian forces on February 24th. The invading forces are already closing in on the capital city of Kyiv, although they are facing heavier-than-expected resistance from the Ukrainian military.