It's definitely hard, but in my opinion, it's not impossible. What use is POW in Bitcoin, what use is the preservation of decentralization and censorship-resistance? How long must the protocol keep chugging along until everyone understands the true nature of Bitcoin?
The use of Bitcoin to evade sanctions is limited primarily because of the nature of the sanctions themselves. Currently, the strongest sanctions are directed at Russia's oil and gas, the country's lifeblood. The US has banned all of Russia's oil and gas. EU countries have also greatly reduced their dependence on Russian oil and gas imports. Germany has also halted the Nord Stream 2 gas project.
That's true, but they can start mining Bitcoin by using their stockpiles of oil, and their unused supply of natural gas, and sell virgin Bitcoins, which has higher value.
Well, it's not gonna make them evade the current sanctions but I think it's worth it. Russia should explore Bitcoin mining considering that they have abundant supply of oil and gas. They have the resources to build the largest Bitcoin mining farm in the world. In effect, they will also be earning huge in a currency that cannot be bullied nor censored.
But I wonder how western countries would begin to treat Bitcoin if Russia is fully into it.
Huge international companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Pepsi, Starbucks, Heineken, Shell, ExxonMobil, Levi's, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and many others have also implemented their own version of sanctions.
In all of these, Bitcoin couldn't be used as a tool of evasion.
That cannot be debated, but as a protocol, and an open, permissionless system that can't be turned off by third parties, wouldn't you agree that Bitcoin is useful? That's where it starts. The dark markets/black markets are next.
I completely agree, although, again, there might be grave repercussions as to Bitcoin's perception once the enemy is making the most out of it. Western countries and the western media might once again paint Bitcoin in a bad light. Moreover, Bitcoin regulations would definitely be at its tightest.