Cryptocurrencies Are 'Certainly' Being Used to Circumvent Russian Sanctions

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), told the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Summit on Tuesday that cryptocurrencies must be used by Russian companies and individuals to bypass sanctions. A growing number of countries have imposed heavy sanctions on Russian entities since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

A certain number of players, individuals or corporates, are clearly trying to convert their ruble into crypto assets, he added, noting that the volume of transactions from ruble to stablecoin and from stablecoin to other digital assets is increasing.

While Lagarde is adamant about using cryptocurrency to avoid Russian sanctions, many experts say that cryptocurrency is not an effective tool for this purpose, including blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis and CEO of Crypto Exchange Coinbase.