Crypto Catch: WAVES token surges 122% in a week; Russia struggles to skirt sanctions

Russia’s economy continued to suffer under sanctions on Monday.

While Russia has reportedly tried to use cryptocurrency to evade sanctions imposed upon them since their unlawful invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, some analysts have said that crypto alone won’t allow Russia to circumvent the onslaught of sanctions that have been imposed upon them.

Since Monday’s sanctions were announced by the US, UK, the EU and Canada, the ruble plunged to an all-time low and the central bank raised its key interest rate to 20%.

The sanctions have targeted Russia’s central bank and national wealth fund, while Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to use the country’s $630 billion in foreign reserves has been seriously restricted.

While crypto has previously been used by rogue states Iran and North Korea to get around their own sanctions, analysts have told Al Jazeera that the sheer weight of Russia’s sanctions make it difficult for them to get around them.

More importantly though, Russia’s limited adoption of digital assets, manifested through the country’s decision to heavily regulate the asset class, last year, has made it difficult for them to use crypto as a means of foregoing sanctions.

The US, UK, EU and Canada are able to enforce their sanctions on Russia through the close tracking of transactions made within the banking system. If Russia are unable to use crypto and move money outside the banking system, they’ll have to abide by the sanctions.

Market News

Bitcoin has continued its astonishing turnaround since yesterday, recovering overnight to hit US$45,000

Second largest ranked crypto, Ethereum, edged higher overnight, rising to US$2,975.

Altcoin News

Proof-of-stake altcoin project, Waves, has been an extremely solid performer this past week – rising 122%.

The impressive price performance follows the recent announcement of Waves 2.0, which is designed to be highly scalable and compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

Waves’ blockchain offers a toolkit for building decentralised applications (DApps) and its ecosystem aims to provide developers with a wide choice of building options, including for decentralised exchanges (DEXs), lending, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), automated market makers (AMMs).

Last Thursday, Waves was priced at US$8.56 before rocketing 122% to a high of US$19.08 earlier today.

Winners and Losers

Image Source @ 2022 Kalkine Media®

Image Description: winners and losers in cryptocurrency trading

Data Source: Coinmarketcap.com, based on top 100 cryptos.

Note: Growth from the 24 hours prior to 12:30pm AEDT

Risk Disclosure: Trading in cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory, or political events. The laws that apply to crypto products (and how a particular crypto product is regulated) may change. Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading in the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed. Kalkine Media cannot and does not represent or guarantee that any of the information/data available here is accurate, reliable, current, complete or appropriate for your needs. Kalkine Media will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading or your reliance on the information shared on this website.