To what extent are Russians capable of storing their riches in Bitcoin?

[Ozero]

The Ruble is rapidly losing value, and the Russian government is considering seizing residents' cash.

Bitcoin appears to be an obvious solution for preserving your wealth in this circumstance.

However, is this even possible? What would a Russian do in this situation? Are they able to just transfer their Rubles to exchange, purchase Bitcoin, and then transfer it to a wallet?

And, if so, is it attainable? Will someone who has worked their entire lives and saved money for their family's future trust a strange technique to transfer that money to a USB stick?

Russian government has not issue a seizing order yet and they are allowing people to withdraw cash.Big lines are already being spotted all over the Internet in St.Petersburg waiting in line to withdraw their cash.As for Bitcoin they have no way how to transfer their cash to exchanges if they do it through the bigger banks because they are out of the SWIFT,however not all the banks as of right now are out of the SWIFT and if any individual has any account in less powerful banks in the ones who has not suffer ban from the SWIFT can send money to exchanges and buy Bitcoin.Safety is always a problem in Russia when we know how their government is so a hardware wallet which is small enough to keep with you is the best option to save your Bitcoins.I don't see any other alternative to their money except Bitcoin,they need to be wise otherwise they are already used to being poor as a nation (excluding the oligarchs).

It is necessary to understand that only those citizens of Russia who are well versed in it and trust it can turn to cryptocurrency in this situation. Across Russia, these are a small percentage. And the situation will develop very quickly. If the government, due to international sanctions and the critical financial situation, intends to confiscate the deposits of the population, it will very quickly block them.
If the government does not do this, it will be done by a group of hackers calling themselves Anonimius, who said they are giving the Russians until March 03 to withdraw their deposits. After that, their funds will be transferred to the accounts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine due to the aggression against Ukraine.

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[KaliLinux]

However, is this even possible? What would a Russian do in this situation? Are they able to just transfer their Rubles to exchange, purchase Bitcoin, and then transfer it to a wallet?

Since Russia banks are out of SWIFT, Russians will not be able to transfer their rubles to most of the exchanges, hence I think that they don't have much of other choices than finding other individuals inside Russia willing to sell Bitcoin for RUR.

While they can't use most centralized exchange, their option isn't that limited. They still can rely on decentralized website and P2P/OTC medium such as Bisq and HodlHodl to find Bitcoin seller though.

it is kinda dicey. With the free fall of the Russian Ruble, who will really want to sell their Bitcoin for RUB when others are trying to sell out of the RUB because that is the currency they are holding to trade with. I think if this has not been done already, regardless of the options they have via these DEXs it will be deficult.

[NeuroticFish]

Because if poeple would sell their rubles for Bitcoin as the ruble becomes worthless, it means somebody is selling those bitcoins for rubles, right?

That's why I said the options are limited. The available options are most probably in-country, either face to face, either with the account at the same bank.
Don't rule out completely the option that some Russians may need to sell BTC for fiat (RUR, USD, EUR) for their daily spending.

[Bitstar_coin]

I was just brainstorming about the depth of the Russian sanctions and how deep it can affect them internally, so i was wondering if the various exchanges with branches in Russia will do the same thing as what is happening with banks and other non-Russian business? i mean like all the exchange who have their Russian version will stop trading because of the sanction!
i did a little search and i saw that there is -

Binance Russia
Kraken Russia
Bittrex Russia
OKCoin Russia
Bybit Russia (^{from coinmarketcap})

Will they stop providing services to the Russian crypto market, because it they do then it will be a huge issue for those who wants to buy btc with their RUB.

[swogerino]

I was just brainstorming about the depth of the Russian sanctions and how deep it can affect them internally, so i was wondering if the various exchanges with branches in Russia will do the same thing as what is happening with banks and other non-Russian business? i mean like all the exchange who have their Russian version will stop trading because of the sanction!
i did a little search and i saw that there is -

Binance Russia
Kraken Russia
Bittrex Russia
OKCoin Russia
Bybit Russia (^{from coinmarketcap})

Will they stop providing services to the Russian crypto market, because it they do then it will be a huge issue for those who wants to buy btc with their RUB.

For the moment major exchanges like Binance and Kraken said that they find it unfair to target every single Russian account and not let them use their platform referring to innocent civilians there.They said that they will block any wallet found connected to people which sanctions are in place against them from US and EU countries.For the moment the civilians can trade but this can change anytime now and the ones who have some Bitcoins in Russia should be very quick in trying to monetize them otherwise the suffering there has already begun because of very restrictive sanctions from US and Europe.

[Pmalek]

I saw also a lot of posts on social media about some people starting to use Bitcoin to store their wealth like converting their fiat money to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

The problem is that the Russian ruble has lost about 30-40% of its value in a really short time. If you liquidate your rubles now, you get 30-40% less Bitcoin than you would have two days ago. But if this war continues, the ruble will fall even more. And something tells me that we haven't seen the worst of Putin yet. The best thing that can happen to the Russians is if some of his generals kill that little maniac.   

[ABCbits]

Let me ask all of you the same question, how is this possible???

Because if poeple would sell their rubles for Bitcoin as the ruble becomes worthless, it means somebody is selling those bitcoins for rubles, right?
I don't see a Frenchman opening a bank account and having rubles sent to him in exchange for his BTC, can you picture that?

it is kinda dicey. With the free fall of the Russian Ruble, who will really want to sell their Bitcoin for RUB when others are trying to sell out of the RUB because that is the currency they are holding to trade with. I think if this has not been done already, regardless of the options they have via these DEXs it will be deficult.

While i agree with your logic, i managed to find some BTC seller who accept RUB at HoldHodl[1]. But obviously the rate isn't fair. At time of writing the post, those seller charge 4-30% higher.

[1] https://www.hodlhodl.com/offers?search=1&side=buy&country=RU&include_global=checked&price_currency=RUB

[NeuroticFish]

While i agree with your logic, i managed to find some BTC seller who accept RUB at HoldHodl[1]. But obviously the rate isn't fair. At time of writing the post, those seller charge 4-30% higher.

That's not unexpected, by far. Keep in mind that any seller risks that until the point he will spend those RUR they will probably worth much less than at the moment of trade.
And obviously the sellers also try to profit greatly...

[pealr12]

I was just brainstorming about the depth of the Russian sanctions and how deep it can affect them internally, so i was wondering if the various exchanges with branches in Russia will do the same thing as what is happening with banks and other non-Russian business? i mean like all the exchange who have their Russian version will stop trading because of the sanction!
i did a little search and i saw that there is -

Binance Russia
Kraken Russia
Bittrex Russia
OKCoin Russia
Bybit Russia (^{from coinmarketcap})

Will they stop providing services to the Russian crypto market, because it they do then it will be a huge issue for those who wants to buy btc with their RUB.

For the moment major exchanges like Binance and Kraken said that they find it unfair to target every single Russian account and not let them use their platform referring to innocent civilians there.They said that they will block any wallet found connected to people which sanctions are in place against them from US and EU countries.For the moment the civilians can trade but this can change anytime now and the ones who have some Bitcoins in Russia should be very quick in trying to monetize them otherwise the suffering there has already begun because of very restrictive sanctions from US and Europe.

Man! that's tough, the question is..... does Putin really care about the sanctions and what effects it will have long term in the Russian economy or he is to egocentric to care?
I agree with binance and kraken, the citizens of Russian should not be punished for the crime of their president, he is too stubborn to listen to any sense of reason, there was no need for this war in the first place, especially fighting a country not as powerful as you in terms of arms and ammunition. it is very sad situation.

[NeuroticFish]

Man! that's tough, the question is..... does Putin really care about the sanctions and what effects it will have long term in the Russian economy or he is to egocentric to care?

I'm sure that he does care.. at some extent. The economic problems can get to the point those defending him find out that it's more viable economically to... send him to the thrash of the history than getting the now rather worthless paycheck. I am sure that he realizes that not-so-subtle detail.

I agree with binance and kraken, the citizens of Russian should not be punished for the crime of their president, he is too stubborn to listen to any sense of reason, there was no need for this war in the first place, especially fighting a country not as powerful as you in terms of arms and ammunition. it is very sad situation.

The problem is that Binance started to go by what regulators ask from them so they can go fully onto rich countries' markets.
And I would not be surprised to see - sooner or later - somebody starting to point their finger in their direction, leaving them no other choice than freezing accounts.
Also I don't know if they use actual Russian banks for deposits/withdrawals; if they don't (which I expect), the SWIFT blocking has its effects here too, on the fiat side.

While I agree that average Ivan accounts should stay unharmed, these exchanges should watch for accounts that can be related to exactly the sanctioned individuals and companies.

[TheGreatPython]

I don't see any problem in buying bitcoins within Russia. Cryptocurrency exchanges still allow Russian users to make exchanges. The easiest way right now is bestchange, but it's not very profitable. It's easier to buy USDT for rubles and then buy BTC on the exchange.

Profitability can depend on what rate you buy and on what rate you sell, I'm not talking about the rates on the exchanges but I'm talking about the value of the crypto. An exchange can give their own rate or fees to use their service but this can be recovered soon once we earn a profit on our cryptocurrency investments. What is good about bestchange is it's fast, no signup and KYC needed.

Buying usdt and trading it to a crypto can only incur us more fees and it's a little bit hustle. Buying crypto using cash is possible as long as crypto is not restricted in our place and there is nothing strange with this, I don't know why op thinks it strange.

[fzkto]

I don't see any problem in buying bitcoins within Russia. Cryptocurrency exchanges still allow Russian users to make exchanges. The easiest way right now is bestchange, but it's not very profitable. It's easier to buy USDT for rubles and then buy BTC on the exchange.

Profitability can depend on what rate you buy and on what rate you sell, I'm not talking about the rates on the exchanges but I'm talking about the value of the crypto. An exchange can give their own rate or fees to use their service but this can be recovered soon once we earn a profit on our cryptocurrency investments. What is good about bestchange is it's fast, no signup and KYC needed.

Buying usdt and trading it to a crypto can only incur us more fees and it's a little bit hustle. Buying crypto using cash is possible as long as crypto is not restricted in our place and there is nothing strange with this, I don't know why op thinks it strange.

I wanted to say that there is no problem to buy bitcoin in Russia now, even with banks disconnecting from international payment systems. As long as services such as bestchange, where Russian roubles are accepted, are working, any user can make transactions. There are other problems in Russia now, such as the rise in prices of food and electronics. People are afraid to hold on to the rouble. There is a kind of panic.

[leea-1334]

it is kinda dicey. With the free fall of the Russian Ruble, who will really want to sell their Bitcoin for RUB when others are trying to sell out of the RUB because that is the currency they are holding to trade with. I think if this has not been done already, regardless of the options they have via these DEXs it will be deficult.

I mean,,, I get it yes if you ask me now I would not sell my Bitcoin for majority of fiat especially my own national one. I believe BTC will always appreciate in price.

But in this case it is different. If you want to escape or run from your country, no emergency transport is accepting BTC. You have to pay in local fiat so I guess this is about the desperate situation nothing about trading anymore.

[Artemis3]

Quite capable, but the Russians need to be careful as their government doesn't want them to use Bitcoin. Putin has been wanting them to sell all their mined bitcoin to their central bank, and now more than ever. He even ordered Russian companies to buy rubles (80% of their capital for those handling foreign currencies). You can imagine the panic this has caused, pretty sure its the cause of the sudden bitcoin price surge.

[tyz]

And, if so, is it attainable? Will someone who has worked their entire lives and saved money for their family's future trust a strange technique to transfer that money to a USB stick?

Look at the Waves-Token price. The prices has risen by 100% in the last seven days and over 40% today alone. Most of all top 100 coins. Waves has a Russian origin (but is a international project today) and from this origin there is still a good Rouble <-> BTC integration on a cheap, easy to use decentralized exchange. It is clear that many Russians are trying to get their money to safety this way at the moment. Other options, like centralized exchanges, are currently inaccessible for most Russians due to the sanctions and SWIFT limitations.

[Zlantann]

Russians would be willing to store their wealth in any other means, be it gold, Bitcoin, properties or foreign stocks. But anyone acting now is acting a little bit late. This is because the rubles has already lost 30%. But it could be smart one now because as long this invasion continue the currency will still loose more value

Anyone accepting the Russian currency now is venturing into a risky long time investment. He is hoping that someday, maybe after the war the Russian economy will bounce back and its currency would regain value. But selling Bitcoin for the Russian rubles is not a bad investment because Russia would surely bounce back.

[Taskford]

Russians would be willing to store their wealth in any other means, be it gold, Bitcoin, properties or foreign stocks. But anyone acting now is acting a little bit late. This is because the rubles has already lost 30%. But it could be smart one now because as long this invasion continue the currency will still loose more value

Anyone accepting the Russian currency now is venturing into a risky long time investment. He is hoping that someday, maybe after the war the Russian economy will bounce back and its currency would regain value. But selling Bitcoin for the Russian rubles is not a bad investment because Russia would surely bounce back.

This is their options for now because there are limitations toward using their currency outside their country and even if they are on their own country still they can feel their economy starting to fall down due to the increasing sanctions of their own currency.

Now they are into bitcoins but for sure others are now thinking more ways to make their money safe and avoid to get decreased in value due to this incidents.

[stompix]

Don't rule out completely the option that some Russians may need to sell BTC for fiat (RUR, USD, EUR) for their daily spending.

While i agree with your logic, i managed to find some BTC seller who accept RUB at HoldHodl[1]. But obviously the rate isn't fair. At time of writing the post, those seller charge 4-30% higher.

[1] https://www.hodlhodl.com/offers?search=1&side=buy&country=RU&include_global=checked&price_currency=RUB

As per above for @NeuroticFish I don't rule out from the start poeple selling BTC for RUB, since pretty obvious poeple have been doing so both in Venezuela and Turkey despite the huge depreciation of the currency but my point was that this is limited, you can't have billions worth of BTC suddenly changing hands and the few with serious connections through bank accounts and exchanges are able to slowly convert fiat to BTC and sell it while jacking up prices (as per your example) bit by bit, till it reaches the point of equilibrium.

Probably less than half of the pump is driven by this but at the same time, I don't exclude breaking 50k in a matter of days, even if it's not real demand and more likely FOMO.

[TribalBob]

Bitcoin appears to be an obvious solution for preserving your wealth in this circumstance.

I don't think so, bitcoin is not a solution if war continues, there will be many impacts that will be obtained by the Russian people if the value of the ruble is increasingly worthless, bitcoin is difficult to trade if their internet dies, the best way to make peace between russia and ukraine

[Flexystar]

Though SWIFT is out of option I think they will still go for p2p options as it won’t need SWIFT. They can choose from hundreds of wallets available through online platforms. Debit and credit cards are still gonna work in the Russia as it won’t be affected by SWIFT as of now. Apart from this, wallets like payeer, PayPal, AIRTM, and some Chinese apps will surely workout the whole trading thing.

We have actually advanced so perfectly in the payment system that we ourselves created lot of loop holes.

So I don’t think they could really stop transferring the funds into crypto. It’s easy if they think.