Russians Withdraw Capital Abroad in Crypto

Bitcoin fell 5.4% on
Thursday, ending the day near $39.6K, and further to $38.9K on Friday morning,
down 1% in 24 hours. Ethereum has remained almost unchanged over the same time
(-0.3%), while other leading altcoins from the first are changing in different
directions, from a 1.6% increase (XRP) to a 1% decrease (BNB).

According to
CoinMarketCap, the total capitalization of the crypto market sank by 0.2% over
the day to $1.74 trillion. The bitcoin dominance index continues to decline,
falling from 42.7% yesterday to 42.4% due to the greater stability of altcoins.

The cryptocurrency
index of fear and greed lost 6 points in a day to 22, again entering the
territory of “extreme fear”. Bitcoin fully returned the growth of
Wednesday, which was caused by the adoption in the United States of the first
document on the regulation of cryptocurrencies.

The decline in stock
indices and the growth of the dollar also did not favour the purchases of the
first cryptocurrency, which often moves in unison with the general demand for
risks.

The first decree on
cryptocurrencies signed the day before can become the basis for future US
legislation on regulating relations in the crypto sphere. Against this
background, the shares of companies associated with cryptocurrencies have
noticeably risen in price.

One of the largest
investment banks, Goldman Sachs, is going to expand its offering for trading
digital assets. The bank is exploring the possibility of launching bilateral cryptocurrency options.

World-famous investor
and writer Robert Kiyosaki has warned that the world economy is now on the
verge of hyperinflation and advised to “stay away” from the stock
market.

Against the backdrop
of a severe crisis in the financial system of the Russian Federation and
restrictions imposed on the circulation of the dollar and the euro, the demand
of the population for cryptocurrency has increased sharply. Now it is primarily
used for the transfer of capital abroad or for parking in “hard”
currency.

Analysts believe that
regulators are unlikely to be able to effectively prevent such transactions.
But the state is helped by crypto exchanges, which block the Russians on their
own initiative.

There remain the
possibilities of p2p platforms, that is, transfers between individuals.
However, there are significant risks of fraud associated with such
transactions.

This article was written by FxPro’s Senior Market Analyst Alex
Kuptsikevich.