Experiences sending money to Russia using cryptocurrencies

Irena · 2024-03-29T17:46:22+00:00

I open this thread to know the experiences of other members of the Community sending money to Russia using cryptocurrencies. I have been researching the subject and currently, after the closure of Binance's business in Russia and its sale to Commex (operator that also announced its closure), the operators that allow sending money to Russia through cryptocurrencies are becoming less and less: Bybit, HTX, etc. In addition to these, it should be noted that it is possible to install a wallet in telegram to send cryptocurrencies. In both cases, the most common procedure consists of two steps: First, buy USDT with a bank card (USDT is a stablecoin whose value is tied to the dollar and does not fluctuate as much as Bitcoin and other currencies). Secondly, sell USDT for rubles directly through these platforms or via a P2P marketplace and receive the rubles by wire transfer or via a Russian bank card (Tinkoff, Rosbank, etc.). I personally have not tried this method yet, so I would like to know your experience. I think it is a topic that may be of interest for many people since with the sanctions there are less and less methods left to send money to Russia. UPDATED JUNE 2024: Thank you all for the responses to this thread. They have been very useful. I have been able to learn how to send money to Russia by sending with cryptocurrencies. I have prepared a step by step guide in this article: https://russiable.com/send-money-russia/

antoniob

Katie1994 Bybit doesn't work in the US

some crypto traders did block USA IP so rendering themselves non accessibles to US users, as a way to dodge the ongoing raids operated by USA on crypto exchanges. Binance among others does this.
You can use a VPN in order to connect to Bybit (yet not all VPN may work, some VPN providers have also their IP ranges, when known, blocked).

You can try to buy TON instead, from the sellers included in Tonkeeper

you can also just buy crypto with USD Visa from an exchange on bestchange.ru,, that will also exchange crypto to RUB, despite not doing it in one operation VISA USD ->MIR, because regulations.

Katie1994

antoniob

Thank you! I'm new to crypto so I really appreciate the help. I'll give this a try.

Anthony

Dear Phoebe,

Complete novice and first timer here. Trying to fill in the gaps in the knowledge to avoid any mistakes.
I have set up a Kraken account, and have the Telegram wallet for the other end. Do I need to have a Kraken wallet to perform the transfer, or can the funds be sent direct from the Kraken account to the Telegram wallet.

As I said, complete novice, so need to be walked through the process.

orange_kat

Anthony

You should be able to send from the Kraken account if you have the correct receiving wallet address for your telegram wallet. Others might be able to give more detailed experiences. I haven't used kraken yet, but do have an account there.

orange_kat

Another point is the wallet and coin need to be on the same network.

phoebe

Anthony Anthony as others have stated you just need to send your USDT to your telegram wallet address. Just ensure you are using correct network.

Anthony

All done and taken care of thank you.

Leo

phoebe Good evening. I read your post about using Kraken with great interest ! I'm living in Russia but from the UK. I'm remote freelancing so get paid in GBP or USD and need to transfer to Roubles. I also have a Kraken account opened in the UK which is fully verified. I can send money from my UK bank to Kraken and buy USDT no problem, however, when I tried to send USDT out of Kraken to my wallet they ( Kraken ) locked my account. Do you need to use a VPN ( from Russia ) going onto Kraken when you generate the wallet address to send to? I am just wondering what triggered the Kraken freeze when sending the USDT to an external wallet... I wasn't using a VPN so just wondering if the Russian IP address is the problem? Is that my mistake?
I have another way of exchanging money, using a Russian registered 'bybit' account ( could verify with my Russian residency ) and P2P ( can pay in USD or GBP with WISE, Revolut, Monzo etc ) that's working fine, with rates matching the official GBPRUB f/x rate, as long as there's a working VPN to verify the on-ramp payment. Rozcomnadzor are clamping down on VPN's so I was interested to see if the Kraken route would work without requiring one... instead of playing cat and mouse with VPN's. Many thanks for your posts - and others here.

antoniob

Leo , when I tried to send USDT out of Kraken to my wallet they ( Kraken ) locked my account.

trivial: Kraken HAS geographic restrictions. It's in clear on their terms:
https://support.kraken.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001368823-Where-can-I-use-Kraken-

I have a verified account at Kraken, but for buying Monero easily by card (they still sell it), then send to my Monero addresses. I will certainly not try to use it from Russia. Also, I didn't test, but they may have known VPN providers IP ranges blacklisted.
Detecting VPN connections and rejecting them is becoming now routine both side of Iron Curtain.
Some other sellers also have these measures and probably all who are registered in "Western" block may implement this.
The point with an accounted blocked may be to get it back, also.

Typically I use exchanges listed on bestchange.ru/bestchange.com , who are registered outside US/UK/EU realms, so out of juridical reach. May be Georgia, Hong-Kong, Urugay, Wherever, optionally via proxied matriosha entities.

phoebe

Leo Good Morning Leo, can I ask which wallet were you trying to send to from Kraken. I only transfer to my telegram wallet address. Also you need a fully verified Kraken and Telegram Wallet by providing your passport details. Current market price this morning is 108 but using this method above results in around 111 RUB/GBP

Leo

phoebe
Hi, I was sending tether to my custodial wallet on bybit. (From there I'm familiar with either P2P or Bestchange). However, having seen Antoniob's reply above I suspect it was my naivety in not using a VPN accessing the UK kraken account ( which is fully verified with UK passport and address proof etc ). Now it may be the case I have lost access to that Kraken account. Unfortunately I came across this community after already having made a couple of mistakes with my own attempts, which from the advice here from you guys, could have been avoided....
If I get access back to the Kraken account I will try sending tether to a telegram wallet as you have suggested.
Thanks for the replies guys.

Leo

antoniob
Hi antoniob. The VPN issue is becoming more acute and obviously a key issue in trying to move money to Russia ( if inside Russia ) so worth mentioning here. The last 3 I have used have all been blocked. Living in Russia and trying to access UK bank account, services and particularly crypto exchanges, etc, is a pain. Interestingly, I could log into my Kraken account, fund it with GBP and buy tether without issue - without a VPN. It was only when I generated a withdrawal address the account was blocked. ( ie; it begs the question why there is only a 'security issue' for Kraken when withdrawing and not depositing...rather cynically.) I don't think it is to do with the wallet address itself ( I don't think there is any geolocation referenced inside a wallet address from what I can find online ) but that the request was made from a computer on a Russian IP. Having read your reply it was, in hindsight, naive not to use a VPN to login to Kraken - but even so, possibly it would still be recognised as in a VPN IP range and still blocked. Thanks for your reply. P.S ( I hope this is still 'on topic' for people inside RF trying to move money, the need for a VPN )

bob

phoebe Many thanks for your interesting post. I notice that you used Monzo. I am thinking of switching to Monzo for my crypto buying.
Do you find Monzo to be the best for crypto buying?
Thanks for any help

phoebe

Monzo is particularly useful with Kraken, instant bank transfer with no fees

bob

I am having real problems sending money to Russia using any method.

The crypto/exchange route is a problem because many UK banks do NOT allow you to buy crypto. Yesterday I contacted five banks and all five said they would not allow me to buy crypto.

Does anyone know of any other routes to send money from the UK to Russia?

Thanks

phoebe

Open a Monza account, easy with no hard credit checks, link it to your Kraken account for low fees. 119 RUB/GBP this morning with crypto

phoebe

Also Santander, Tesco Bank, Barclays and HSBC.

bob

phoebe Wow!!! that's an excellent rate phoebe.

Thanks for replying. Very kind of you and much appreciated. I went ito HSBC yesterday and they told me that I couldn't buy crypto. But I don't know if they meant P2P or direct from an exchange or both.

Did you buy P2P or direct from exchange?

I came across this online:
https://www.reddit.com/r/monzo/comments/r15a10/transfering_money_to_kraken/

Best wishes and thanks again.

phoebe

They mean direct from your own account. If you sign up to Kraken you can link your HSBC fee free for deposits. You can then deposit into Kraken before buying USDT then transferring to your Telegram wallet. Sounds complicated but trust me it isn't, and its much safer than you think.

Elena

Does anyone know how to send money to Spain from Russia using cryptocurrencies?

Thanks!

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