Hardware wallets designed to securely store cryptocurrencies have increased several fold this spring in Russia against the backdrop of currency regulations introduced by foreign sanctions Ledger and Tangem are the most popular products on the market, media reports revealed.
Russians buying more hardware crypto wallets, market insiders say
Russian crypto users sought to buy up to eight times more hardware wallets in March-April 2022 than in the previous period, the daily newspaper Vedomosti It reported, citing representatives.
Ledger, which sells a wallet that resembles a USB flash drive, and Tangem, which sells products designed to take up the space of a bank card, are the most popular brands among Russian customers, the article detailed.
M.video-Eldorado began selling crypto wallets in the fall of 2021. Currently offering Tangem and Ledger in single and multiple currencies, the retailer observed significant growth in demand for these devices in 2022 – its sales saw an 8x annual growth rate in the first quarter.
According to Tangem, the significant increase in demand for its devices this year can be partially attributed to the company’s introduction of more affordable products to the market. m.video-Eldorado demand peaked in March when the offering was launched, the The chain confirms.
Ozone also admits that the expanded range of products led to a surge in demand; Bits.media reported that in January the number of available items increased sevenfold, and in June inventory was six times higher than in January. Currency restrictions imposed by the Bank of Russia against the backdrop of Western financial sanctions have also had an impact, the online marketplace noted.
Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline-analytics, quoted by Vedomosti, explained that the surge in wallet sales was also due to the exodus of IT professionals from the Russian Federation. They purchased cryptocurrencies and hardware wallets to transfer their savings abroad, he elaborated.
The publication further noted that the recent turmoil in the cryptocurrency market, the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, and problems with crypto lenders such as Celsius have led to a nearly fivefold increase in global demand for leisure wallets.
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