Nelli Liang: “cryptocurrency industry is not developed enough to circumvent sanctions”

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Nelly Liang believes that the cryptocurrency industry is not yet sufficiently developed to help Russia successfully circumvent Western sanctions.

Nellie Liang stated that the transaction sizes in the cryptocurrency ecosystem are still quite small, which will prevent Russia from making large transactions. However, the official acknowledged that the ministry may be overlooking some sectors of the cryptocurrency market.

According to Liang, the Ministry of Finance has been studying this issue for many years, so they have something to answer for a possible attempt to circumvent the sanctions. In addition, the G7 countries have also expressed concerns about this, which may contribute to effective law enforcement against Russia.

“Despite the rapid growth of the industry, due to the increasing popularity of digital assets, the share of cryptocurrencies as a means of illegal financing is not as great as, say, just using cash,” Liang said.

However, not everyone agrees with the position of the US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill that would require foreign crypto companies to comply with U.S. government sanctions. However, the bill has drawn criticism from the cryptocurrency community.

Earlier, former head of payments and settlements at the Bank of Japan, Hiromi Yamaoka, said that sanctions against Russia could encourage other countries to accelerate the development of state cryptocurrencies.

Source: Bits

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