Russians are settling billions in cryptocurrencies in the United Arab Emirates

Following harsh sanctions, Russian cryptocurrency users in the United Arab Emirates are finding ways to spend their cryptocurrencies. According to a Reuters report, referring to the management of the financial company, the Russians are liquidating digital currencies worth billions of dollars.

Russians are spending their cryptocurrencies in the United Arab Emirates

While some use cryptocurrencies to invest in real estate in the United Arab Emirates, others use local companies to convert assets.

One of the managers told Reuters that the cryptocurrency company had received many inquiries from Swiss brokers in the last 10 days, who asked for the settlement of billions of dollars in BTC. This is because they fear that Switzerland will freeze its assets. “I know guy – I don’t know who he is, but he came through a broker – and he said, ‘I want to sell 125,000 BTC’,” the manager said.

Another source, a real estate agent whose company has partnered with the cryptocurrency service, said:

“We have seen a lot of Russians and even Belarusians coming to Dubai and buying what they can, even for cryptocurrencies.”

Another source in the United Arab Emirates also confirmed to Reuters that the Russians are buying real estate in Dubai using cryptocurrencies.

According to Apurva Trivedi, CEO of Healy Consultants, which advises cryptocurrency companies, the company now enjoys the greatest interest from Russian clients. “It simply came to our notice then. So cryptocurrencies were a very good outlet for them to manage the risks they face,” Trivedi said. “It’s a good liquidity provider for them.”

Sanctions against Russia

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase began to block sanctioned addresses of Russian users. Coinbase, for example, blocked 25,000 accounts of users and companies that received some form of sanction.

This week, European countries such as Germany and Estonia have called for tighter surveillance to close any loopholes that could allow cryptocurrency sanctions to be eased. Experts say it will not be easy for Russians to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions due to the transparency of blockchain technology.

The US Treasury Department also said that violating sanctions with cryptocurrencies was not easily feasible. Even so, they asked to monitor companies in the sector.

It is worth noting that the United Arab Emirates has not responded to the sanctions imposed by Western countries. Its central bank has not issued any instructions for action.