Crypto Exchange Traffic in Russia Spikes 5% Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Amid the global coronavirus pandemic and concerns over prolonged quarantines and mounting unemployment, more and more people around the world are turning to crypto exchange services, Russia being no exception.

Qrator Labs, a cybersecurity firm, reported that people in Russia have become increasingly engaged with crypto exchanges amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Crypto exchange-related traffic soars 5.56% in Russia

Specifically, traffic on crypto exchanges in Russia soared 5.56% in the last week of March 2020 compared to February averages, as indicated by Qrator Labs. Citing data from the research, Russia’s news agency RBC reported on the news on April 13.

According to the report, Qrator Labs linked the surging numbers with the growing interest in currency markets. In addition, Russia’s traffic on foreign exchange markets has also increased around 3%, as the report states.

The rising traffic came against the background of Russia’s first paid non-working week, which was initially set from March 28 to April 5 as a measure aimed at bringing the coronavirus outbreak under control. Eventually, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended Russia’s nation-wide “non-working week” until April 30.

DDoS attacks on crypto exchanges surged 486%, according to the report

Alongside a significant rise of crypto exchange-related traffic in Russia, Qrator Labs reportedly alerted a massive growth of denial-of-service attacks (DDoS) on cryptocurrency exchanges. The report indicated that the amount of DDoS attacks on crypto exchange platforms increased as much as 486% during the same period.

Qrator Labs’ data on the coronavirus-driven crypto traffic surge in Russia may add to growing evidence for the apparent positive impact of the pandemic on global crypto markets. According to Google Trends data, interest in buying Bitcoin hit its highest levels since July 2019.

On April 19, Cameron Winklevoss, a co-founder of major crypto exchange Gemini, made another remark about the significance of COVID-19 for Bitcoin and its users, stating that Bitcoin will see a historic “inflection point” in its life due to coronavirus.