Russia could turn to cryptocurrency if it is banned from the SWIFT payments system. Analysts have warned that if Russia is able to use crypto to evade sanctions, “political support in the U.S. for crypto will fall and regulatory risk will rise.”
Crypto Faces Regulatory Risks if Used by Russia to Evade Sanctions
Amid growing talk of banning Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system after its invasion of Ukraine, some analysts have warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could turn to cryptocurrency to evade sanctions.
“We believe Washington is worried that Russia will use crypto to evade sanctions,” Cowen Washington Research Group analyst Jaret Seiberg reportedly said Friday. He added:
If Russia is able to use crypto this way, then we believe political support in the U.S. for crypto will fall and regulatory risk will rise.
Seiberg believes that since most global trade is still dollar-denominated, it could be challenging for Russia to use crypto to evade SWIFT.
“Paying in bitcoin requires a conversion to dollars, which provides a way to track…
