Hardware wallets designed to securely store cryptocurrency have seen a manifold growth in Russia against the backdrop of currency sanctions introduced this spring amid foreign sanctions. A media report revealed that Ledger and Tangem have been the most popular products in the market.
Russians Buy More Hardware Crypto Wallets, Say Market Players
Russian crypto users have sought to purchase hardware wallets eight times more than in the previous period in March-April 2022, daily Vedomosti quoted representatives of Tangem wallet developer, retail chain M.Video-Eldorado and Ozone Marketplace.
Ledger, which sells a USB stick-like purse, and Tangam, whose products are designed to replace bank cards, have been the most popular brands among Russian customers, the article details.
M.video-Eldorado began selling crypto wallets in the fall of 2021. It currently offers a single-currency and a multi-currency Tangem and a Ledger. In 2022, the retailer saw a significant increase in demand for these devices — their sales saw an eight-fold annual increase in the first quarter.
According to Tangem, the significant increase in demand for its devices since the beginning of the year is also partly due to the fact that the company has introduced more affordable products in the market. Demand for M.Video-Eldorado peaked in March, when they were first introduced, the series confirmed.
Ozone also acknowledged that its wide range of products has contributed to the growth in demand. In January, there was a seven-fold increase in available items and stocks in June were up six times as compared to January, Bits.media reported. The online marketplace noted that currency sanctions imposed by the Bank of Russia have had an effect against the backdrop of Western financial sanctions.
Mikhail Burmistrov, quoting Infoline-Analytics CEO Vedomosti, said that the reason for the jump in sales of wallets could also be the outflow of IT specialists from the Russian Federation. He bought cryptocurrencies and hardware wallets to transfer his savings overseas, he elaborated.
The publication further states that the recent turmoil in the cryptocurrency market, the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and the problems faced by crypto lenders such as Celsius have led to an almost fivefold increase in global demand for Ledger wallets.
Do you know of other crypto-related products that enjoy increasing demand? Tell us in the comments section below.
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