The Russia's central bank wanted cryptocurrencies to be banned in its country but the Russian president, Vladimir Putin said bitcoin mining and other crypto mining will be beneficial for Russia. Some people at that time have been supectimg this could be a move by the Russia's president that he is planning to invade Ukraine which will result to sanctions, thinking cryptocurrencies would be a means to evade sanctions and make it economically less effective.
Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov demand crypto exchanges to freeze all Russian accounts so that the sanction can be effective, but most exchanges did not support this. I read few days ago that cryptocurrencies may not help in Russia sanction but FinCEN concluded that Russia can attempt to use cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions.
FinCEN Provides Financial Institutions with Red Flags on Potential Russian Sanctions Evasion AttemptsWhat is your take? What role can cryptocurrencies play in helping Russia sanctions evasion and to what extent can this be?
Cryptocurrencies are a drop in the ocean in terms of helping a country to overcome economic sanctions. You might seem curious but Russians aren't as sanctioned and limited as many think. Many countries buy products for Russia and deliver them, for example, Armenia buys 10000 Mercedes car, then Russia buys from Armenia and that's how Russia gets rid of sanctions. Also, as far as I know, many companies changed brand identity in Russia to bypass regulations and restrictions.
Sanctions are stupid to my mind, with or without cryptocurrencies, Russia can evade many of them. Btw cryptocurrency mining will be very cheap for Russia because electricity rates are very cheap and China is their neighbour.