Russia's Trying to Avoid Sanctions Through Crypto

Cryptocurrencies are not directly controlled by any government and therefore can be used to evade sanctions.US Senator Elizabeth Warren is working on a bill to ensure that Russia does not evade sanctions by using ryptocurrencies. These sanctions against Russian citizens and companies seek to block assets as well as limit the access of Russian entities to US financial systems. No government has direct control over cryptocurrencies and because of this they can be used to evade sanctions.

The bill being drafted by Warren may ask crypto exchanges operating from the US to identify suspicious transactions in wallets linked to Russia. Warren claims that this bill will ensure that Putin and his allies cannot use crypto to weaken economic sanctions imposed by the US. Warren wrote to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week, urging him to explain how sanctions against Russia would be implemented. "Cryptocurrencies can be used to evade sanctions, and for this reason it is important for the crypto industry to strictly enforce sanctions," the letter said.

US crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase and Kraken are not ready to block all accounts in Russia, despite cooperating with the sanctions. Coinbase claims to have shut down services for over 25,000 accounts involved in illegal activities, including evading sanctions. Coinbase says that if Russian accounts are unilaterally banned, then innocent Russian investors will suffer in difficult times.Last week, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that if crypto exchanges block Russian users, Russia's economy will suffer a lot and this could stop attacks on Ukraine. Some other countries have also imposed sanctions on Russia. Many global companies have also stopped business in Russia. These include petroleum company Shell, which has decided not to buy oil from Russia.