Russia may use cryptocurrencies to avoid economic sanctions, experts point out that 'money laundering using cryptocurrencies is impossible'



Economic sanctions are increasing pressure on Russia's invasion of Ukraine by the United States and European countries. However, there are voices that Russia may use virtual currencies such as Bitcoin to avoid this economic sanctions. However, some experts deny the possibility that 'money laundering using virtual currency is impossible'.

Here's How Putin, Russia Could Use Bitcoin, Crypto to Bypass Sanctions --The Street

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/cryptocurrency/heres-how-putin-russia-could-use-bitcoin-crypto-to-bypass-sanctions

Ukraine Conflict: Government Seeks Russian Politicians' Crypto Info --Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-27/ukrainian-government-seeks-russian-politicians-crypto-info

Could bitcoin be Putin's economic savior? That's unlikely, experts say
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/bitcoin-putins-economic-savior-s-unlikely-experts-say-rcna17724

The United States and the European Union have imposed unprecedented levels of strict economic sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This could freeze bank accounts held outside Russia by more than 20 prominent businessmen, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergeĭ Viklov.

In addition, it has been announced that ' SWIFT ,' which is used by financial institutions around the world as an important communication line for global commerce, will also eliminate some Russian banks . This is accelerating Russia's isolation from the international economy.

In order to avoid such a situation, there are voices that the Russian government may use virtual currency.



'This is an unknown territory. Just a few weeks ago, two different messages arrived from Russia,' said Chris Klein, co-founder and chief operating officer of crypto investment firm Bitcoin Ira. One was a message from the anti-crypto central bank, and the other was a message from Congress that 'crypto could serve its purpose (help avoid economic sanctions).' It is clear that even in Russia, the use of virtual currency is being planned as a countermeasure against economic sanctions.

'Political, Putin hasn't taken any action to ban cryptocurrencies,' said Michael Fasanero, regulatory director at Blockchain Intelligence Group, a crypto-related analytics firm. Wanted to make cryptocurrencies part of or an alternative to Russia's mainstream politics. ' 'In a decentralized financial environment, Russia will be able to circumvent the economic policies imposed by the United States and its allies,' he said, stating that cryptocurrencies would help evade Russia's economic sanctions. ..

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is calling on major crypto exchanges to block Russian users. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in his Twitter account, 'I am asking all major crypto exchanges to block the addresses of Russian users. Related to Russian and Belarusian politicians. It is important not only to freeze the address, but also to interfere with general users. '



Some crypto exchanges have announced that they will fully support the Ukrainian government since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced that it will donate $ 10 million (about 1.16 billion yen) to 'help Ukraine's humanitarian crisis' and seek support for Ukraine in collaboration with related charity organizations. ..



However, when Bloomberg contacted Binance, 'We cannot unilaterally freeze the accounts of millions of innocent users because it goes against the raison d'etre of cryptocurrencies, but we have an impact on innocent users. We are taking the necessary steps to impose sanctions on Russia while minimizing the number of sanctions, and if the international community further increases sanctions, we will actively adopt them. ' Was obtained.

Meanwhile, DMarket, which handles games and NFTs related to Metaverse, has announced that it has cut off all ties with Russia and Belarus and has frozen all user accounts in these countries.

Ukrainian Attorney Artem Afian, who manages efforts to obtain information about politicians' accounts, plans to publish an address list of politicians-owned cryptocurrencies and share them with popular crypto exchanges. increase. The purpose is to recognize the address as 'harmful' and prevent general users and businesses from trading with these addresses. 'I want you to understand that Russia is unwelcome in Ukraine and in the world of cryptocurrencies,' said Afian.

In addition, the address list created by Afian will be shared with Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis company. 'Cryptocurrencies could be used to escape the sanctions associated with this crisis, which is probably happening slowly in the last few months,' said Caroline Malcolm, Head of International Policy at Chainalysis. 'All information about relevant wallet addresses will be added to our products and will be immediately available to our partners,' Bloomberg told Bloomberg.

In addition, Chainalysis has tweeted that it is monitoring whether Russian actors are using cryptocurrency transactions to escape economic sanctions, and has already taken measures closer to the Ukrainian government.



In addition, Ari Redbord, Legal Officer at TRM Labs, a crypto-compliance company, said, 'The crypto industry is sometimes described as'like an unregulated archetypal old era', at least in the United States. There is nothing at all. ' In fact, cryptocurrency transactions are very quick, but there is a record of each transaction on the blockchain, which is visible to all users and difficult to forge or delete. It has become.

In the United States, regulations on money laundering of cryptocurrencies have been tightened , and cryptocurrency exchanges are obliged to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies to avoid economic sanctions. In fact, in 2022, the US Department of Justice seized $ 3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin on suspicion of money laundering.

YouTuber and Rapper seized Bitcoin worth 420 billion yen, the highest amount in judicial history, arrested on suspicion of laundering Bitcoin stolen by hacking --GIGAZINE



In response, Robert Clifton Burns, a senior counselor at law firm Crowell & Moring, said, 'Cryptocurrencies are not completely anonymous. How to identify who made a transaction by looking at related transactions. There is. '

Related Posts:

in Note, Posted by logu_ii