Experts on crypto policy argue that concerns expressed by high profile politicians about Russia evading economic sanctions using cryptocurrency are “totally unfounded.” They say the crypto market is not nearly large enough nor deep enough to support the volume that Russia needs and that the country’s digital asset infrastructure is minimal. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the current President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde are among the high profile figures concerned that cryptocurrency could provide the means for Russia to bypass severe financial sanctions imposed for its invasion of Ukraine. The country has been mostly …

On Tuesday, decentralized exchange, or DEX, Uniswap launched an interface that directly converts ERC-20 tokens, such as Aave, Chainlink (LINK), and Decentraland, to Ether (ETH). These coins are then sent to the official crypto wallet addresses of the Ukrainian government, all in a single transaction. In explaining the rollout, Uniswap claimed that the address shared by the Ukrainian government is located on a centralized exchange and only accepts ETH and Tether (USDT). Thus, the feature simplifies the donation process for anyone holding ERC-20 tokens on Uniswap's list and who wishes to donate by connecting their wallet to the DEX. 2/ …

Calls from the crypto community for Ukraine to accept other cryptocurrencies have been answered. The official Ukraine Twitter account shared that it will now accept donations from Polkadot (DOT), while other cryptocurrencies will soon be added. The people of Ukraine are grateful for the support and donations from the global crypto community as we protect our freedom. We are now accepting Polkadot donations too: $DOT: 1x8aa2N2Ar9SQweJv9vsuZn3WYDHu7gMQu1RePjZuBe33Hv. More cryptocurrencies to be accepted soon. — Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) March 1, 2022 Gavin Wood, the co-founder of Polkadot had previously shared that if the Ukraine wallets were to add DOT, he would …

The Treasury Department and reportedly the White House are warning U.S.-based companies and individuals not to facilitate crypto transactions sent to certain Russian nationals and banks. According to regulations from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control scheduled to go into effect on March 1, U.S. residents may not use digital currencies to benefit Russia’s government — including the country’s central bank — as an attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The guidelines equated crypto transactions to “deceptive or structured transactions or dealings” in attempting to evade sanctions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said …

Based on data gathered by Cointelegraph, the amount of tracked crypto donations sent to the Ukrainian government, military, and charities has surpassed $37 million at the time of publication. These include Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), and other altcoins. The numbers are also based on tracked projects and do not account for items such as donation efforts between individuals. The biggest recipient of crypto donations appears to be the "Reserve fund of Ukraine," backed by the country's native cryptocurrency exchange, Kuna. According to its official Telegram channel, the exchange has raised approximately $13 million in crypto for Ukraine, mainly …

As the West continues to impose more sanctions against Russian banks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one Ukrainian official has called for sanctions on Russians’ cryptocurrency holdings as well. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, took to Twitter on Sunday to urge the global cryptocurrency exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. He emphasized that exchanges should freeze not only the addresses tied to Russia and Belarus officially but also to “sabotage ordinary users.” I'm asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian …

U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT) witnessed a spike of over 30% in five days against the Russian ruble — highlighting the negative and immediate impact of the ongoing war on the traditional financial system. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and crypto exchange Binance show that the ruble (RUB) is undergoing inflation as the USDT/RUB trading pair — for the first time in history — crossed 105 RUB. Prior to the spike, the USDT/RUB pair maintained a comparatively steady market price below 80 rubles. However, with the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine war, the ruble’s market price against USDT surged on Feb. …

The geopolitical news flow is likely to result in volatile moves in Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins in the next few days. News of Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering the nuclear deterrence forces on high alert may be viewed as a negative, but reports of talks between the warring nations could be positive as it raises hopes of an end to the conflict. The crypto community came into focus as the Ukrainian government called for help and sought crypto donations. Some individuals on social media said their Ukrainian credit cards had stopped working and they were not able to withdraw money …

Mirror Protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on the Terra blockchain, was hit by one of the biggest collapses in financial history this week after Vladimir Putin ordered military strikes against Ukraine. Terra tokens rally Mirror Protocol's native token, MIR, dropped to $0.993 on Feb. 24, its worst level to date amid a selloff across the broader crypto market. But a sharp rebound ensued, taking the price to as high as $1.41 two days later, up more than 40% when measured from MIR's record low. Just like the drop, MIR's upside retracement came in the wake of similar recoveries …

The European Commission announced to remove a number of Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) messaging system, aimed at hindering Russia’s capacity to carry out cross-border payments. In a joint statement released by the European Commission, leaders from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States highlighted their shared interest in defending Ukraine from the war against Russia: “We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.” While condemning the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s move to lay siege across Ukraine, the EU Commission …

Within the first week of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Ukrainian government has reached out to the crypto community on Twitter for raising funds to support its civilians and troops. Ukraine has now started accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) as donations. As Russia threatens to take over Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, the government of Ukraine sought help from numerous international organizations to overpower the imminent threat. However, considering time is of the essence, the official Twitter account of Ukraine extended its call for help to Crypto Twitter. Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. …

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has called on lawmakers to approve a regulatory framework on crypto, hinting at potentially preventing Russia from getting around economic sanctions. Speaking to reporters at an informal meeting of economics and finance ministers on Friday, Lagarde said the European Central Bank would be “decisively and rigorously” implementing sanctions on Russia imposed by European lawmakers in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. In response to a question on Russia potentially using crypto to evade some of these measures, the ECB president urged action on an existing proposal for a regulatory framework …