Lagarde sees an increase in exchange from rubles to crypto assets after war

Frankfurt (Germany), 22 Mar The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, said today that since the start of the war in Ukraine the exchange of rubles to crypto assets has increased to avoid the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia. At the 2022 Innovation Conference organized by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Lagarde stated that the amount of rubles exchanged in crypto assets is at “the highest level since May 2021.” Lagarde considered that crypto assets are a threat and have been a threat in the past because dubious and criminal transactions have been carried out with them. They are now being used to avoid the sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, according to the president of the ECB. Lagarde also said that they observe that Ukrainian refugees arrive in Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and other countries loaded with bags full of hryvnia bills, which they cannot quickly exchange into euros or other European currencies because the Ukrainian currency is no longer listed on the foreign exchange market and there is no reference exchange rate. This is, according to Lagarde, a sign of the confidence that the general population still has in cash. Nearly 3.5 million Ukrainian citizens, mostly women, children and the elderly, have left their country as a result of the Russian invasion, according to figures from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Many cross borders with their savings, but they cannot afford their fundamental needs because they cannot exchange them either in euros or in other European currencies because the exchange rate they have been offered is too high or because impressive commissions are imposed on them. That is why the European Union and the ECB are trying to find a way for them to change cash by establishing an exchange mechanism that banks and exchange offices accept. The “Financial Times” newspaper reports today that the European Commission is discussing with the ECB the creation of a facility that will allow Ukrainians to exchange part of their savings in hryvnia into euros, which requires guarantees from EU countries to cover possible losses in the value of the Ukrainian currency. Lagarde welcomed US President Joe Biden's proposal to study the possibility of launching a digital dollar. Biden recently ordered his government to evaluate the creation of a US digital currency, backed by the Federal Reserve (Fed, the country's central bank). CHIEF aia/yes