Amid the United States and the European Union taking measures to prevent Russia from using cryptocurrencies for potential evasion of sanctions, some countries in Asia have also been moving to respond to the situation. Japan to fine crypto exchanges for violating sanctions Japan became the latest country in Asia to call cryptocurrency firms to comply with sanctions against Russia, requesting them on Monday to not process crypto transactions involving sanctioned individuals or entities in Russia and Belarus. The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the Ministry of Finance issued a joint statement on sanctions against Russia, stressing that crypto is …

As Russia’s self-styled “special operation” against Ukraine continues, crippling economic sanctions remain the Western powers’ primary weapon to counter Russia’s military actions without triggering an even more dramatic escalation. As NATO and allies’ financial offensive unfolds, ensuring that the collective West presents a united front remains political leaders’ chief concern. The global crypto industry keeps getting suspicious looks as some agents of state power are seemingly entrenched in their beliefs that digital assets could be the weak spot undermining the efficiency of the sanctions push. Despite ample evidence to the contrary — including the FBI director’s Congress testimony — there …

Bitcoin (BTC) has declined by around 30% after topping out at 5.8 million rubles a token on March 9. Nonetheless, the said drop could be an excuse for traders to dump another big stash of the Russian national currency if a classic bullish continuation pattern plays out. Bitcoin heads towards 11 million rubles Dubbed the "ascending triangle," the pattern appears when the price consolidates between a rising lower trendline (support) and a flat upper trendline (resistance). It completes after the price breaks out of the consolidation range in the direction of its previous trend, eyeing levels at length equal to …

It has been two weeks since Russia kicked off the first large-scale military action in Europe in the 21st century — a so-called “special operation” in Ukraine. The military conflict immediately triggered devastating sanctions against the Russian economy from the United States, the European Union and their allies and has put the crypto industry in a position that is both highly vulnerable and demanding. As the world watches closely, the crypto space must prove its own standing as a mature and financially and politically responsible community, and it must defy the allegations of being a safe haven for war criminals, …

The United States and European Union have announced new actions targeting Russia’s economy and wealthy individuals as a report suggests Vladimir Putin’s allies have attempted to circumvent sanctions using cryptocurrency in foreign countries. In a Friday announcement, the White House said leadership from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union will take additional actions aimed at economically isolating Russia in response to President Vladmir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine. The announcement includes banning imports of many Russian goods, banning the export of luxury goods to Russia, and guidance for the U.S. Treasury …

Whose side are you on? The Ukraine-Russia war is forcing people to answer that question. For some in the crypto community, this can be uncomfortable because if an individual or project stands with the West against Russia, it also means it abides by sanctions. This can be tough to square with crypto/blockchain’s supposed decentralized system and its claims on being borderless, censorship-free and distributed. Take OpenSea, the NFT marketplace, which really isn’t a decentralized project but is often described as such. “OpenSea is a decentralized peer-to-peer marketplace for buying, selling and trading rare digital goods,” according to CoinMarketCap, for instance. …

Amid global businesses boycotting the Russian residents over military conflict in Ukraine, some companies in the cryptocurrency industry stand up for the rights of non-sanctioned Russian citizens. Bitfinex, an affiliate firm of the world’s largest stablecoin provider, Tether (USDT), will not unilaterally freeze the accounts of ordinary Russian customers as part of the global sanctions unless it's forced to do so, a spokesperson for Bitfinex told Cointelegraph on Thursday. The representative emphasized that Bitfinex has taken appropriate action against the accounts of Russian users who have been sanctioned. “As with all our customer accounts, we work to ensure that there …

Blockchain-data analysis firm Chainalysis has announced the fast-tracked launch of two primary ‘sanctions screening’ tools that it will provide free of charge to the cryptocurrency industry. According to the report provided by Chainalysis on March 10, the screening tools include two main components of new tracking software that will assist exchanges in screening wallets and transactions for activity that appears to be skirting economic sanctions. The first tool, which is immediately available, is an on-chain oracle. An on-chain oracle is a smart contract aimed more specifically at DeFi (decentralized finance) projects. It validates whether or not a cryptocurrency wallet address …

Christopher Wray, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that fiat was a more likely avenue for Russia to explore in circumventing sanctions given the United States’ ability to block efforts using crypto. In a Thursday hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich asked the FBI director if Russia might respond to the economic impact of the United States banning imports of the country’s oil and gas by using reserves of gold, China’s currency, or cryptocurrency. Director Wray said the FBI and its partners had "built up significant expertise" on digital assets, …

The market capitalization of gold-backed crypto tokens increased by 60% in 2022 to surpass $1 billion for the first time in history, according to Arcane Research in its latest weekly report. Gold shines, Bitcoin disappoints In 2022, investors have been rushing to the perceived safety of gold-backed crypto assets, whose value is pegged to the price of gold. Namely, PAX Gold (PAXG), Tether Gold (XAUT), and similar precious metal-backed digital assets have been climbing in value as investors "diversify inflation bets" within the crypto sector, explains Arcane Research. PAXG is also outperforming Bitcoin (BTC) this year, as shown in the …

Amid the ongoing discussion between the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and the nation’s Finance Ministry on the future of crypto, a State Duma (the lower chamber of Parliament) working group has voiced their support for regulating rather than banning digital assets. The working group called for the “clear regulation of the digital assets industry” as the most effective approach to lower the risks associated with crypto’s adoption in the country. As reported by local media, some 50 experts took part in the panel session called by the Duma’s working group “On the questions of the regulation of cryptocurrency”. The …

The European Commission has clarified that crypto assets will fall under additional sanctions targeted against Russia and Belarus in response to the military conflict in Ukraine. In a Wednesday statement, the European Commission said member states had agreed to amend regulations with the goal of ensuring “even more effectively that Russian sanctions cannot be circumvented, including through Belarus.” The commission said crypto assets fell under the scope of “transferable securities,” adding that loans and credit provided using crypto would not be permitted as part of these restrictive financial measures. We are further tightening the net of sanctions responding to Russia’s …