Sanctions May Not Affect Russia’s Access to Crypto, Reports Claim – Bitcoin News

As sanctions rain on Russia, following the Kremlin’s decision to invade Ukraine, media reports have suggested that they are unlikely to limit the country’s access to crypto assets. Although the Russian elite could use them for circumvention of restrictions, regular Russians may continue to trade digital coins via foreign platforms.

Russian Billionaires See Cryptocurrencies as a Tool To Overcome Sanctions

U.S. and EU sanctions, imposed in response to Moscow’s military assault on Ukraine, are threatening the ability of Russia, and its elites, to do businesses in dollars and euros. Bloomberg reported that the sanctions might be less severe because the country is moving towards regulation of cryptocurrencies.

Decentralized exchanges such as Bitcoin can be used to trade digital currencies, like bitcoin. This could allow them to avoid restrictions. According to Matthew Sigel who heads digital assets research at investment manager Vaneck, “neither dictators nor human rights activists will encounter any censor on the Bitcoin network.”

The article explains that Russian billionaires who are already under investigation can use cryptocurrency to avoid sanctions. Digital coins, which can be anonymously traded and used to buy goods and services as well as invest in other assets and banks outside the Russian Federation, could offer these billionaires opportunities. Quantum Economics’ CEO Mati Greenspan said that:

Wealthy individuals who are concerned about their accounts being frozen by sanctions can keep their assets in Bitcoin to avoid such threats.

In addition to the direct option of spending and sending coins, crypto owners can transfer money through multiple wallets as well as use exchanges not backed by restrictions. This is also true for businesses located in sanctions countries. Iran is one example of such a country.

Russian Media says that Russians are not denied access to crypto by exchanges

One proposal is for Russia to be cut off from Swift, which the international interbank payment system. Artem Deev of Amarkets’ analytical department said that such an action is unlikely to have any impact on individual crypto users. Commenting for RBC Crypto, he expressed his opinion that Russia’s regulatory decisions will have a bigger impact.

According to another news source, a representative of an international crypto-exchange said that they were not likely to put restrictions on Russian users because of tightening Russian sanctions. Source:

While it won’t affect anyone, businesses will suffer, particularly for importers and exporters.

“Crypto exchanges are decentralized organizations, so they do not comply with the sanctions requirements of the United States and the European Union,” added Tatiana Kosykh, a lawyer at the Advocate Premium law firm.

RBC was informed by representatives from Currency.com. The crypto exchange, founded in Belarusian tech entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya said that they do not intend to ban customers from Russia and other countries, despite current conflicts in Ukraine. The exchanges based outside the U.S. will likely follow their example.

Are you positive that Russia’s citizens and Russia will have access to crypto markets worldwide after Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Lubomir Tatsev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.