- Russians are liquidating their crypto in the UAE.
- This decision comes at a time when most countries are freezing Russian assets.
- Wealthy Russians are either investing in property in the UAE or stashing their money.
Rich Russians are moving en masse toward the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an attempt to save their wealth. They are approaching crypto firms in the Arab nation to actively liquidate billions of dollars of cryptocurrency, as per a Reuters report.
According to sources, many are reported to be looking to buy property in the UAE using cryptocurrency, while some are planning to convert their assets into fiat money and stash it temporarily.
Crypto firms say that they have been receiving several requests from Swiss brokers in the past week. These requests come at a time when sanctions are being imposed on Russian assets. Brokers say that clients are afraid their assets will be frozen and are therefore looking for safe countries to invest their money in.
Executives even have stories of outrageous requests. “We have one guy – I don’t know who he is, but he came through a broker – and they’re like, ‘we want to sell 125,000 bitcoin’. And I’m like, ‘what? That’s $6 billion guys’,” the executive said.
Switzerland had stated earlier this month that crypto assets were subject to the same sanctions and measures it had imposed on Russian assets and individuals. Therefore, this means if a person is sanctioned, their crypto assets would also be frozen in Switzerland.
The UAE’s not taking sides between Western allies, and Russia has caused Russians to believe that their money is safe in the wealthy Arab country, which is currently a growing crypto hub.
Notably, The UAE was placed on a “grey list” this month so it could be better monitored by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). On the other hand, the Prime Minister of UAE recently approved a new crypto-regulation law and established a regulatory body to monitor crypto activity in the country.
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