cryptoknowmics.com
In light of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis, the crypto community is concerned about Russian oligarchs avoiding crypto sanctions by using Bitcoin, Tether, and other privacy-enabling cryptocurrencies. Earlier this month, the US, EU, UK, and G7 countries issued statements announcing the application of crypto sanctions on Russia.
Exposing Crypto Wallets Associated With Russia
Elliptic, a blockchain security and forensics firm reported a digital wallet consisting of millions of dollars worth of crypto assets holdings that could be linked to Russian individuals or organizations. Elliptic stated that since the sanctions have been enforced, over 400 virtual asset services have accepted anonymous users to purchase crypto with Rubles. The CEO of Elliptic, Simone Maini published an announcement on the official website that entails the work of Elliptic in combating crypto sanctions evasions. The blockchain analysis provider based out of London also reports over 15 million crypto addresses that have been related to criminal activities by Russians. On March 14, 2022, the co-founder of Elliptic, Tom Robinson claimed that Russians might use crypto to evade sanctions. However, he also added,
"It’s not proving out realistic that oligarchs can completely bypass sanctions by moving all their wealth into crypto. Crypto is highly traceable. Crypto can and will be used for sanctions evasion, but it’s not the silver bullet."
Leading crypto exchange firms including Binance and Coinbase Global have decided to abide by the sanctions, however, have denied accepting Ukraine's request to completely stop serving Russian users.