Moody’s: Cryptos Will Not Help Russia Avoid Western Sanctions

According to analysts from international rating agency Moody’s, cryptos are not an effective solution for Russia to circumvent sanctions.

The company analysts have noted that the imposition of international sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine has raised the question of whether cryptocurrencies can be used to bypass restrictions and “restore the ability of citizens and governments to at least partially conduct financial transactions.”

Moody’s has said that Russian citizens have recently started to turn to cryptocurrencies for small transactions more often, and the authorities are proposing to allow Russian companies to pay for export-import transactions in digital currencies.

The analysts have said:

“Given the limited size and low liquidity of the ruble-to-cryptocurrency exchange market, at the moment crypto assets are hardly a viable and effective solution for evading sanctions.”

Among other barriers, experts cite the introduction of KYC/AML procedures by many exchanges.