On February 24, 2022, around 05:00 EET, Russia launched an invasion into Ukraine. The situation is still developing, as many around the world call for assistance to Ukraine. Many countries and individuals have shared their support for Ukraine, while several nations have begun imposing sanctions against Russia. According to experts, these sanctions will have serious short-term and long-term consequences, but the war’s impact on the Russian economy does not seem to be good. This can perhaps already be seen in the exchange market.
The Russian Ruble is currently worth about .012 US dollars, which is an interesting statistic compared to Roblox’s in-game economy. The Robux, comparable to Fortnite’s V-Bucks or Apex Legends’ Apex Coins, is currently worth about .0125 US dollars. In short, Robux—a non-real world currency—is a little more valuable than the Russian Ruble.
The value of the Ruble, as well as its main stock index, dropped significantly on Thursday following the Ukraine Invasion. The Ruble and the Russian equities index are in flux, having recovered some of their losses, but the Russian Central bank is having to step in. It should be noted that the Russian economy has been trending downward prior to this invasion. When the markets did fall, Moscow reportedly stated that “Russia has financial resources enough to maintain the financial system in the light of sanctions and external threats.”
Countries leveraging sanctions against Russia are notably avoiding the energy market, and Russia’s economy is largely based on oil and gas exports. Sanctions against the energy market and the sale of oil and gas would have a huge impact on global energy costs, so the US and Europe are targeting the personal finances of Russian oligarchs and politicians. However, there are also plenty of calls to ban Russia from SWIFT in order to make these sanctions as effective as possible.
Still, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is ongoing. There are people leaving their home and country, uncertain of their future; videos of everything are going around, including of the alleged Ghost of Kyiv to protestors around the world; and far, far more. All of it has been a very surprising and shocking ride.
No one expected Russia’s Rubles to hold less value than a Roblox Robux, and unfortunately, it’s certainly not going to be the last surprise related to the situation.
Roblox is available now on PC, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
Source: Vice