Ask HN: Why does the Ruble still hold 50% of its value?
Creating a throwaway as I have a controversial take on this (maybe even the minority opinion here):<p>In my opinion, Ruble will become stable in few months (once the dust has settled that is). The sanctions are only imposed by the West (many Asian countries abstained from voting in UNSC). Russia will use Chinese Unionpay in-lieu of Mastercard&#x2F;Visa and might integrate with Chinese CIPS (alternative to SWIFT). Probably even Indian Rupay in the future. It also has its own homegrown Mir Payment System. The sanctions jolt is going to be temporary. Ultimately SWIFT is going to not be dominant anymore. This is some hard reality that the West has to come to terms with. If anything, these sanctions have fast-tracked establishment of a multi-polar World and rejig of alliances.<p>Don&#x27;t forget that other countries, who supported sanctions against Russia (due to coercion or tight coupling with the Western World), are also watching what is unfolding. They are seeing the disparity between how NATO invaded Libya and none of the NATO countries faced any sanctions, while Russia invades Ukraine and faces massive sanctions. Libya hadn&#x27;t threatened any NATO country nor had it invaded any non-NATO country. It was going through an internal civil war. Yet it was leveled and Gaddafi was dethroned, and lynched in public. So anyone who says NATO is a defensive alliance is just bullshitting.<p>They&#x27;ll all have a rethink on what it means to be allied with the West and follow a &quot;Rules based order&quot; that only applies to countries excluding the West. It naturally follows that they will want to balance out their National interests and not place all their eggs in one basket.<p>One thing is for sure. These circumstances will only boost alternative forms of currency&#x2F;payment systems. Imagine having the entire payment infrastructure controlled by handful of countries who can act with impunity. For whom, the so called &quot;rules&quot; don&#x27;t apply but do apply for everyone else.