Moody’s: “Cryptocurrencies will not help Russia avoid sanctions”

The international rating agency Moody’s conducted a study, as a result of which it was found out that it would be very difficult for Russia to evade sanctions with the help of cryptocurrencies.

Moody’s published report, which analyzed the impact of Western sanctions on the cryptocurrency sector in Russia and how digital currencies can help it avoid restrictions. First of all, the agency noted the increased number of small transactions with cryptocurrencies made by Russians. However, despite their anonymous nature, the operations are minor and hardly aimed at avoiding sanctions.

“Given the restrictions faced by the ruble in the markets when converting it to cryptocurrencies and low liquidity, we believe that digital currencies are currently unlikely to become an effective and viable tool for circumventing sanctions for individuals,” the report says.

Experts also said that Russia can accept payments in cryptocurrencies for its oil and gas exports. However, Moody’s believes that the current size of the digital asset market and insufficient liquidity make this option inconvenient for Russia. The agency also emphasized that many large cryptocurrency exchanges have “know your customer” (KYC) rules that will help identify blacklisted users and prevent sanctions evasion.

Earlier, Andrey Lugovoy, a member of the State Duma working group on the legislative regulation of digital currencies, said that Russia could overtake all other countries in the field of cryptocurrency mining. In his opinion, this requires a clear legislative regulation of the work of miners.