The intensifying conflict in Ukraine has the whole world on edge, causing the Russian currency to plummet to new lows in wake of increasing Western sanctions.
In reaction to international actions, Nikolai Arefiev, a State Duma member from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), has disclosed that money invested by Russian citizens will be used in the case of a new economic collapse, as per the news.ru statement. “If they block all the funds that are abroad, then the government will have no choice but to seize all the deposits of the population – there are about 60 trillion rubles – in order to get out of the situation,” said Arefiev.
While Russia currently has over $640 billion in gold and foreign currency reserves outside of the country, an additional 14 trillion rubles (equivalent to $158 billion) along with $470 billion of Russian oligarchs are safeguarded in bank accounts overseas.
Should said funds be seized, Russia intends to use the money to force its people to undergo economic restructuring. When asked if citizens will return the money to the public, Arefiev responded with the following: “Five generations will pass until the state pays off, by that time inflation will devour all this.”
It is possible that Russia may withdraw these funds and for purposes of safeguarding them invest in a safer asset.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) may have the potential to save the Russian population from their own regime. Despite the fact that many cryptocurrency supporters consider Bitcoin (BTC) as a hedge against inflation, it will safeguard people because the authorities cannot control the cryptocurrency outright.
The volumes of the Russian Ruble-Bitcoin (RUB/BTC) spiked to new highs as Russian banks increased interest rates by up to 20%. Considering that the CPRF would be incapable of accessing funds, more Russians seem to be flocking to crypto for the privacy and decentralization it affords.
Furthermore, residents would be able to liquidate their assets for a profit at any time or withdraw their funds anywhere since crypto is not regulated by any global regulatory framework or restriction.
Amid growing economic sanctions on Russia, cryptocurrency exchange platforms such as Binance and Kraken have stated that accounts for Russian users will not be frozen.