ECB President Christine Lagarde said today there are signs that some Russians are attempting to circumvent sanctions on the war in Ukraine by converting rubles into cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. Crypto assets “are certainly being used as a way to try to circumvent the sanctions that have been decided by many countries around the world against Russia,” said Lagarde, noting that the volumes of rubles in cryptocurrencies are currently at the lowest level. high that we have seen perhaps since 2021.
The measures announced by the United States and the European Union aim to limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars and other international currencies. They include sanctions on major banks and restrictions on the country’s elite. This has led to speculation that cryptocurrencies serve as a tool to circumvent such sanctions by wealthy Russians.