The war is likely to “require billions of dollars and it is very hard to off ramp billions of dollars of crypto,” this expert says.
As the U.S. and its allies aim to cripple Russia through sanctions for invading Ukraine, there has been some speculation around whether Moscow could gain leeway through cryptocurrencies, which are typically based on decentralized networks and don’t rely on any central authorities to maintain.
Read more: ‘Selected’ Russian banks to be removed from SWIFT global banking network, as sanctions against Moscow grow Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, echoed the point, saying that “there is no question in my mind that Russia will attempt to use cryptocurrency to launder funds and evade sanctions.”
Russia exported $332.2 billion worth of merchandise in 2020, and imported $240.4 billion worth of goods, according to data by the World Trade Organization. Russia’s central bank holds $630 billion reserves made up by deposits and assets in the world’s major currencies. “The larger cryptocurrency businesses where most of the liquidity exists, have compliance controls in place,” Redbord said.
Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive at crypto exchange FTX, wrote on Twitter that “we are already complying with international sanctions to prevent evasion, and will do so whether or not it’s mandated.”
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