Weekly bitcoin trading at LocalBitcoins has reached 193.5 mln rubles. It has increased by 7% over the last month, and nearly threefold since the beginning of the year.
The figures are provided by the coin.dance statistics based on LocalBitcoins exchange platform data. The latest figures take into account the volume of trading for the week from 24 to 30 July 2016.
The main reason behind this leap is the decline of the ruble, which has lost almost 4%, sliding from 62.62 to 67.05 RUR for a US dollar.
In bitcoins, for the week ended on 30 July, the trading volume at LocalBitcoins reached 4377 BTC, having increased by 13% in a month and more than twofold since the beginning of 2016.
The softening of the previously quite tough rhetoric of Russian authorities regarding the status of bitcoin in the country could be another indirect factor stimulating cryptocurrency sales in Russia.
In mid-July, Russian Ministry of Finance suggested that in terms of its legal status, any cryptocurrency in Russia could be equated to foreign currencies.
Whereas earlier, MinFin sought to introduce criminal responsibility for all cryptocurrency-related activities, now it only suggests banning its issuance within Russia, while allowing to buy and sell it abroad.
The easing of MinFin’s position is apparently due to the expressed interest of Russian regulators and large financial institutions to the blockchain technology behind bitcoin.
A new version of the draft law on cryptocurrencies is expected to enter the State Duma by the end of 2016.
Elena Platonova
