Russia is strengthening its leadership on LocalBitcoins, the major peer-to-peer exchange, in the share of Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes.
It has been reported by CryptoDiffer that Russia has traded the most Bitcoin on LocalBitcoins exchange for two consecutive months, April and May 2020.
BITCOIN INTEREST BY GEOGRAPHY IN APRIL We took a look at the #Bitcoin $BTC #BTC trading volume by countries on @LocalBitcoins in April. Data by @Coin_Dance pic.twitter.com/KzTTmPcnqX — CryptoDiffer (@CryptoDiffer) May 3, 2020
However, according to the data, Russia was responsible for 19% of total BTC trading volumes on LocalBitcoins this May by leaving Venezuela and the United States trailing, as LocalBitcoins’ BTC trading in Venezuela and the US reportedly accounted for 11% and 10%.
BITCOIN INTEREST BY GEOGRAPHY IN MAY We took a look at the #Bitcoin $BTC #BTC trading volume by countries on @LocalBitcoins in May Data by @Coin_Dance pic.twitter.com/nde7nDIY1w — CryptoDiffer (@CryptoDiffer) May 30, 2020
The firm found that total Bitcoin trading volumes on LocalBitcoins in May 2020 amounted to 17,867 Bitcoins. The information provided by CryptoDiffer seemingly corresponds with data from the major Bitcoin statistics website, Coin Dance.
According to Coin Dance’s website, Russia’s weekly BTC trading volumes on LocalBitcoins accounted for about 800 BTC in May 2020. In the meantime, Venezuela and the US were trading around 400 BTC per week during the same month.
A spokesperson of LocalBitcoins said that Russia has been one of the leading markets on the platform. By mentioning an internal LocalBitcoins’ report, the representative said that Russia was responsible for 17.9% of the total trade volume on the exchange in May 2020.
Russia traded the largest amount of Bitcoin on LocalBitcoins in April and May 2020, leaving Venezuela and the United States trailing https://t.co/wVfbngaY0A — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 2, 2020
The person said that LocalBitcoins has been providing Bitcoin trading services against the Russian ruble since 2013. After hitting all-time highs in weekly BTC trading in 2017, the Russian market has remained an important market to date.
It has been analyzed that Russia’s Bitcoin trading leadership on LocalBitcoins comes amidst the firm’s apparent push into the Russian market. As per the report, Russia became the largest trader of Bitcoin on LocalBitcoins amidst a general decline of Bitcoin trading activity on the platform.
According to the data from Coin Dance, weekly Bitcoin trading volumes on the exchange crumbled from around 10,000 BTC in May 2019 to about 4,500 BTC in May 2020.
While Russia is seemingly the top market for LocalBitcoins so far, the country has seen some issues in terms of crypto regulation, as on May 21, Russian lawmakers suggested criminalizing crypto violations with fines up to $28,240 and imprisonment for up to seven years.
The LocalBitcoins’ representative said:
“We are following the legal situation in Russia and we hope that Russian people will continue to have access to Bitcoin and its benefits in the future too.”
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Asia Blockchain Review