Demand for Hardware Crypto Wallets Increases Amid Currency Restrictions in Russia – This spring, as a result of currency restrictions imposed in response to international sanctions, the number of hardware wallets intended to safely hold cryptocurrencies increased several-fold. According to a media report, Ledger and Tangem have been the most well-liked products on the market.
According to the daily Vedomosti, which cited representatives of the Tangem wallet developer, the retail chain M.video-Eldorado, and the Ozon marketplace, Russian cryptocurrency users attempted to buy up to eight times more hardware wallets in March to April 2022 compared to earlier periods.
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According to the article, Tangem and Ledger have been the most well-liked brands among Russian consumers. Tangem makes goods that are designed to fit inside a bank card, and Ledger offers wallets that resemble USB sticks.
M.video-Eldorado in the fall of 2021, began selling crypto wallets. It presently provides a Ledger, a Tangem, and a multi-currency Tangem. The retailer noticed a significant surge in the demand for these products in 2022, as seen by the first quarter’s eight-fold annual increase in sales.
Tangem claims that the large rise in demand for its products since the start of the year is also partially attributable to the company’s introduction of more reasonably priced products to the marketplace. When they were first made available in March, M.video-Eldorado reported a peak in demand.
Additionally, Ozon admitted that the increased variety of items has fueled the surge in demand. According to Bits.media, the number of items available in January increased sevenfold, and by June, the number was six times larger than in January.
The online marketplace noted that currency limitations implemented by the Bank of Russia against the backdrop of Western financial sanctions had an impact.
According to Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline-analytics, who was quoted by Vedomosti, the increase in wallet sales is also related to the outflow of IT specialists from the Russian Federation. He explained that they purchased hardware wallets and cryptocurrencies in order to send their savings abroad.
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The publication also notes that the current volatility in the cryptocurrency market, the demise of the Terra ecosystem, and the issues at crypto lenders like Celsius have increased demand for Ledger wallets globally by almost five times.
