Cryptocurrency is about to face immense legal pressure
The global order is reshuffling quickly, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The West has responded to the invasion by imposing heavy sanctions on the Kremlin with the intent to weaken its ability to wage war. The Kremlin has been almost unplugged from the world’s financial system by excluding leading Russian banks from the SWIFT system and the EU has vouched to achieve independence from Russian gas “within years”.
The Kremlin has been forced to go on the defensive on the financial battleground, strict limits have been imposed on capital flight and the Moscow stock exchange has not been opened since the invasion began.
In all of this, there are reports that Russian elites (foremost) are using cryptocurrency and other digital assets to transfer their wealth out of the country.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine has started, ECB is urging member states and their institutions to hasten the regulation of cryptocurrency.
The European Union should move quickly to approve cryptocurrency regulation that prevents Russia from evading sanctions after invading Ukraine. — European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. [1]
During his speech, on March 22nd, 2022, F. Panetta, a member of the Executive Board of the ECB, has stated the following:
