Wagner Rebellion Triggers Surge in Ruble-Tether Trading Volume Amidst Political Turmoil

• The trading price of Tether has been pegged to the $1 mark.
• This is not the first time USDT has experienced a massive increase.

The paramilitary group Wagner rebelled against the military leadership in Moscow, resulting in the Russians exchanging their rubles, Russia’s currency, with the dollar-pegged cryptocurrency this weekend. This results in a total volume of trades between rubles, and the stablecoin Tether (USDT) has surged from $4 million on Saturday to $15 million on Sunday.

The trading price of Tether has been pegged to the $1 mark. The dollar’s status as an asset of security has made Tether a primary choice for those seeking safety from the currencies of their home nations for a long time. People frequently purchase cryptocurrencies when countries experience greater political or economic instability.

The surge of Tether occurred as the leader of Wagner’s military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, captured the city of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia. Moreover, the military force has advanced northward into Moscow in an apparent coup attempt against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia’s Wagner Rebellion

Prigozhin has been fighting a power battle with the military’s senior brass for months, holding them responsible for the deaths of his soldiers in eastern Ukraine. He has frequently charged them with insufficient funding for his army. And also, slowing progress with red tape while praising Wagner’s success as his own.

On June 24, As Prigozhin accused Moscow’s military command of ordering strikes on Wagner’s camps. And killing several soldiers, his rage looked to reach a boiling point.

The leader of the Wagner military group has unveiled several messages, claiming that he and his military troop have entered the city of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia and taken over its military installations.

Significant Increase in Ruble-Tether Trading Volume

According to reports, Yevgeny Prigozhin has come to an agreement with Putin to leave Russia and halt his northward march into Belarus. After that, the trading volume between rubles and Tether has been down again. It has declined to approximately $3 million since the conflict ended.

It is not the first time the trade volume of rubles and Tether has experienced a massive increase. In late February, during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, trading between the ruble and Tether witnessed a huge surge.

The trading volume has reached more than $37 million, according to Kaiko, which only obtains trade data on rubles and USDT from the cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Huobi after several exchanges delisted the ruble as a result of global sanctions on Russia. Clara Medalie, Kaiko’s director of research, stated that Overall volumes are way down since the invasion last year.

People’s change to the stablecoin became a major thing in countries that faced an ongoing crisis. It directly impacts the value of their national currencies. Moreover, Russia’s ruble quickly devalued after Putin declared an invasion of Ukraine. These things are taking place with the BRICS summit coming up soon. After Putin’s Surrender to the ICC, the BRICS Summit was planned for August in South Africa. The continuous surge of interest among people in crypto is expected to be a topic of discussion at the summit. The major question now is whether Putin will attend the BRICS summit or not.

The crisis in the countries has played an important role in the trading of stablecoins. This sharp increase in trading activity reflects a growing lack of confidence in the stability of the ruble amidst the ongoing political turmoil. Moreover, the surge in trading volume between rubles and Tether highlights the potential of cryptocurrencies to serve as a refuge for individuals seeking stability in uncertain times.

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