The total volume of trades between rubles, Russia’s currency, and Tether’s USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, almost quadrupled from $4 million on Saturday to $15 million on Sunday, according to digital assets data provider CCData.
The spike occurred just as Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, captured the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and his forces pushed northward toward Moscow in an apparent coup attempt aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin.
