Bitcoin trading across Russia saw a significant rise since March amid the COVID-19 lockdown
The lockout imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic acts as a catalyst for increased Bitcoin trading in Russia. According to RBC-Crypto, several Russian cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance Russia, Garantex, and EXMO have seen a significant increase in user registration and activity from March to May 2020. Correctly, EXMO has reported a 15-20% increase in activity on exchanges.
Bitcoin trading across Russia saw a significant rise
In addition to higher user registration, there is an increase in Bitcoin Futures trading activity. Binance Russia said its April and May 2020 figures were double the number they received in March and five times the number they registered in January.
However, the founder of the Garantex Exchange, Serge Mendelev, explained the following:
“The increased trading activity in the country is not associated with people who withdrew money from deposits or those who received payments from the budget. Russia had announced financial aid to its citizens, and banks have been accommodating loans to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In my opinion, the increase in the number of users is associated with interest from entrepreneurs and those who have sufficient funds for risky investments.”
Thus, according to Mendelev, the increase in the number of users is related to interest from entrepreneurs and those who have enough money for risky investments, rather than COVID-19.
Still, according to United Trader Fedor Anashchenkov, the isolation of the Coronavirus epidemic is only one reason for increased trading activity in Russia. Interest in domestic cryptocurrencies has increased, but he thinks volume almost always correlates with price fluctuations. It is possible to remember that when Bitcoin reached nearly $ 20,000 in December 2017, interest in this topic was also the highest of all time. The most significant spike in activity occurred in March in Russia, coinciding with the collapse of Bitcoin and traditional stock markets around the world.
However, the psychology in cryptocurrencies is still positive because retail and the confidence of significant investors remain uncertain in the traditional tool market, according to Anashchenkov. He expects interest in Bitcoin to grow further as the price stabilizes at $ 10,000.
Cryptocurrency legislation in Russia
This June, Russia began to relax cryptocurrency restrictions. In particular, the level of interest in Bitcoin has decreased significantly according to statistics from Google Trends. Moreover, the trading volume and trading activity in the exchange are not affected because there is only the price and situation of the market problem in that respect.
The fate of cryptocurrency in Russia will be decided this 2020 fall when the country is expected to adopt the crypto bill that will impose tighter restrictions on the use of crypto assets.
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