Topic: Russian individuals are using crypto to bypass sanctions - page 3. (Read 819 times)

Personally I think that the events that have played out would only push the government and the central banks to put more effort towards regulation of the cryptocurrency market. They wouldn’t push it aside, because they know that if they do push aside, it continues.

Bitcoin is not something that you push aside, it doesn’t stop running. Look at countries where the government has banned cryptocurrency, people still find a way to buy and sell and also use it for transactions. And in that case it means the worse for the government since they wouldn’t be able to at least keep track of some of the transactions that happening in the cryptocurrency market.

In short, I’ll tell you how Russians buy crypto wallets or expensive phones (oversized goods).
The buyer sends the cryptocurrency to the guarantor in Poland or Belarus, and the guarantor sends the goods along the route Poland-Belarus-Russia. It is even easier with China and Kazakhstan.

Russians have been banned or restricted especially for using crypto currency. Their normal use may be disrupted here but those who have assets in their personal wallet can easily solve this problem with the help of someone from another country(P2P). However, those who have assets in the exchanges may have difficulty. Remember that till today Russia have good friends like china so everything is possible.

The problem with the p2p platforms is that you need to find other people willing to give you crypto in a period where the only method to take your money out is crypto. This means that there will be plenty of people who are willing to do it only if you pay them a huge difference. What is 43k today, could be 50k there and what is 38k tomorrow could be 45k there when you want to buy.

So, if you have crypto and you are in p2p of Russian market and want to sell some crypto then you could make a good amount but when you want to buy, they will use the sanctions as a reason to charge you a bit more than what you should be paying just because they know you are in desperate need.

Since the western food companies were disbanded, I see it as an ideal option if the community is now back to improve the local food and beverage industry and then develop it into an opportunity to create new businesses. The number of large western companies such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola has resulted in its own losses, but again in the eyes of entrepreneurs, this is an allowance to establish a company that can become a local competitor among people who are no longer dependent on foreign products.

They are  saying that,now Russian situation made them to use bitcoin as the foremost for the transaction to the near people.The millionaire’s in Russia can buy huge amount of cryptocurrency.Because they will be whale easily into the crypto.Mainly to the bitcoin,they will became a bitcoin whale before the war with their money.

Not all Crypto-currency Exchange are allowing Russia and it's citizens to bypass the sanction, but definitely there would be some agency that would use this opportunity to make gains for themselves.

Although I don't think innocent citizens should suffer because of Russia, but regardless, Crypto-currency should not be used as a medium to escape bam illegally.

It is not a secret that the implications of cryptocurrencies will be used to overcome regulations and restrictions and will be used for a global trade without restrictions and now that all the central banks and the government are aware of the untapped power of a decentralized currency, what do you think will be the implications in the long term when they are planning to regulate the entire cryptocurrency space.

It is a very difficult time in Russia right now. Some people choose to run away because they already have a lot of money. But this will end sadly, because other people will take away their business in Russia, and they will live in other countries as tourists.
I will tell you my opinion, despite everything that happens, there is a lot of money in Russia. I have a business in Russia, and the problem is not in finding investments, but in the fact that all industries are busy. So now there are a lot of opportunities for business in Russia. I can write you many examples, for example about McDonald's. The food in the European McDonald's is very different from the food in the Russian McDonald's, because countries have different requirements for food in public catering. Many companies use palm oil for food production, although it is banned or very strict in Europe.
Many cafe and restaurant owners are very happy about this and will take a share of the business from foreign companies.

These are mere allegations, The last time I checked bitcoin is still anonymous to an extent, the oil that is claimed to be means of exchange is not also virtual. If it is exported we can monitor the delivery. I saw on several television station the speculation that came after the sanction on bank and the idea of cryptocurrency as option. I guess this was responsible for this rumour.

That is sort of the big issue. The issue isn't their ability to initiate a bitcoin transaction, the issue is exchanging that bitcoin into fiat. Most of the off/on ramps are exchanges that use SWIFT to send customers their funds in the form of fiat currency.

Needless to say, completely evading these sanctions will not be an easy task for Russia. However, I have a feeling they will find a way.

Not only Russians but pretty much every person will be able to bypass the middleman and their restrictions if he is using the P2P trading.
Russians were able to bypass the sanctions since there was no middleman to restrict them.
There were rumors that someone even bought a car with bitcoin which is indeed surprising.
So as far as we have bitcoin, we will keep hearing such news. People have finally realized the benefits of bitcoin.

I have recently read about this.  The thing about having a breakthrough technology that allows for such freedoms as bitcoin does is there's of course going to be some negative aspects due to it being as such, but I think it's important for people to remember that the good outweighs the bad.  I of course don't love the fact that Russians are being able to use it to hide from sanctions, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with bitcoin. 

You have to wonder how many of them are using Monero or Zcash, as of course these are true privacy coins.

I'm a part of an activist group that works to help Ukraine in this war, and during the first days there was an idea by some fellow activists to call for boycotting Bitcoin because Russians can use cryptos to evade sanctions. I stepped in fast, saying that cryptos can't take the blame for those who use them, and that the Ukrainian state is actually pro-crypto, and millions of dollars (it was millions then, and it's at least 60 million now) are raised in cryptos to help the army, so the idea was, thankfully, abandoned for good. It's important to keep in mind that it's not Bitcoin's fault that Russians might use it to bypass sanctions. It's instead important to focus on limiting the options of Russians doing that, and it's actively being done by the West thanks to centralized crypto exchanges complying with the policies.

And the most obvious fact, is sanctions are pulling even more wealth from Russia, people moving money out of Russia and buying properties in foreign countries, properties that they will have to pay taxes on every year, draining more and more their pockets. You're witnessing a full capital flight with money leaving the country at insane levels and you still think that the sanctions are a joke, lol.

This capital flight is proof of how much trust the people that have some money in Russia have in the future economy, if they would have had even a bit they would have used that money to buy property there or invest in companies that would replace the western ones that are fleeing, something like building Elbrus chips, but the reality is that everyone flees faster than rats from a sinking ship, the water is barely leaking and the rats are already onshore. What happened to Make Russia Great Again? Still in beta testing?


What lifeline?
Russia can still get paid as the contracts are saying, in euros via banks, there is no need for bitcoin payments as there is no ban on purchasing gas there is nor restrictions in payments. This is just Russia trying to flex their muscle and trying to scare the markets to raise the prices, but the contracts are long in in place, where it says euros till 2030 it will be euros till 2030!

Wealthy Russian citizens have exchanged their money for cryptocurrencies and are buying up real estate in the UAE and Turkey. It is perfectly legal in the UAE. You officially change cryptocurrencies in this country and open a bank account, and then buy real estate.
https://iz.ru/1310195/2022-03-24/kolichestvo-sdelok-s-nedvizhimostiu-v-dubae-vyroslo-v-chetyre-raza
In Turkey, the exchange is done through intermediaries and Russians also buy apartments and houses.
Prices have also risen in Georgia and Armenia, and housing rent has risen in price.

This is how the sanctions of Europe and America help the economies of other countries

No matter how much they try to discredit bitcoin by talking about it in a negative context, they do the opposite. People only learn more about the fact that no one can stop you from using bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. That you are the only one who owns the coins. This is probably the best promotion for bitcoin right now. I would like to say that in Russia, because of sanctions and bans in the country, people are using stable coins more than bitcoin.

I think before the war started, crypto sat in a sort of gray zone where people were more ambivalent towards it. As this war drags on it is going to fall under greater spotlight, Russians have been squeezed but crypto gives them a way out. While I have nothing against the average Russian who is against war, the only way financial restrictions will be effective is if they have no outlets to get their money into USD/Euros. I predict there will be a lot more political activity soon in America/Europe to restrict it's usage as it's used for countering sanctions.

What we re witnessing today is actually Bitcoin in action though of course it could not be avoided that maybe there are those in powers who don't like that Bitcoin can be utilized by the sanctioned country to get away to some extent the effects of the sanctions. In their eyes, Bitcoin has been providing a lifeline to Russia and with the recent announcement that the country can be accepting Bitcoin for its oil and gas, the more Bitcoin can be on the limelight and yes people who don't understand Bitcoin may look at it in a bad light. Still, the USA and the European Union including the UK can work on the sanctions with centralized platforms dealing with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency but beyond that it would be impossible to impose any sanction on those which are decentralized especially P2P.

The scale is definitely unknown. But let me share you something; https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/135716/number-of-bitcoin-whales-spikes-as-sanctions-on-Russia-bite . As you can see from this article that it shows the number of wallets with a lot of bitcoin (1k+ wallets) increased a lot.

And this is just wallets with so much in it, imagine all those rich Russians who did like 100 bitcoin per wallet and got plenty of addresses to hide their wealth as well. So, all in all there are "some" cases that proves that it is happening, we do not know the scale like you said, but we know that it has happened when the first sanctions where heard.