USDT records new all-time high against Russian ruble as inflation hits
As an immediate countermeasure against the rising inflation of its fiat currency, the Russian central bank doubled key interest rates on Monday, from 9.5% to 20%.
United States dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT) witnessed a spike of over 30% in five days against the Russian ruble — highlighting the negative and immediate impact of the ongoing war on the traditional financial system.
Data from crypto exchange Binance show that the ruble is undergoing inflation as the USDT/RUB trading pair — for the first time in history — crossed 105 rubles.
Prior to the spike, the USDT/RUB pair maintained a comparatively steady market price below 80 rubles. However, the ruble’s market price against USDT surged on Thursday, momentarily exceeding 90 rubles.
As tensions escalated, on Sunday, the European Commission announced plans to remove Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, messaging system.
Parallel to this timeline, the value of the ruble saw a decline and has continued to lose its spending power by 30% — eaten away by inflation.
As an immediate countermeasure against the rising inflation of its fiat currency, the Russian central bank doubled key interest rates on Monday, from 9.5% to 20%. According to the central bank:
“The increase of the key rate will ensure a rise in deposit rates to levels needed to compensate for the increased depreciation and inflation risks. This is needed to support financial and price stability and protect citizens’ savings from depreciation.”
In addition, the government has also asked Russian companies to sell 80% of their foreign currency revenues as threats related to a complete international financial ban prevails.
