The post Chainalysis: Russia Is Loudest and ‘Most Pervasive’ Country Using Crypto to Skirt Sanctions appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Russia has been increasing its use of cryptocurrency for sanctions evasion, disinformation, and election interference, according to execs for leading blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. “Russia has become an international force using cryptocurrency for everything from sanctions evasion to ransomware attacks, and most recently, interference and disinformation campaigns targeting the US elections,” said Chainalysis chief marketing officer Ian Andrews during a talk shared on the company’s YouTube channel on Oct. 1. Valerie Kennedy—the firm’s Director of Intelligence Solutions—suggested that crypto use is a sign of desperation on Russia’s part since “in Russia’s perfect world, they would have used a central bank digital currency.” Still, that sort of system has “been pretty slow to develop” forcing Russia “to use different types of cryptocurrencies instead for these types of payments.” “Russia didn’t want to make this decision,” she added. Chainalysis Head of National Security Intelligence Andrew Fierman noted that new laws enable the Russian Central Bank to oversee and control cryptocurrency usage for cross-border transactions. The nation introduced “a bill to facilitate cross-border payments, particularly via cryptocurrency within Russia,” he said, suggesting this move is a response to the sanctions imposed on Russia. The experts discussed the rise of Russian-language, non-KYC instant exchange services. These platforms, often lacking corporate registration, allow real-time swapping of fiat currency to cryptocurrency and vice versa. Fierman explained that individuals can use these services to connect accounts from sanctioned Russian banks—effectively bypassing international sanctions. “One of the things that I realized pretty early on is that people who are subject to sanctions aren’t going to be overly willing to put their information through the know-your-customer process at a mainstream financial institution,” Fierman highlighted. Kennedy suggested a more comprehensive approach to monitoring services connected to Russia, including deeper due diligence and open-source intelligence efforts. “It’s going to involve, for…

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Filed under: News - @ October 1, 2024 10:25 pm