Russia considers cryptocurrency to avoid Ukraine-related sanctions

Date 2018/1/4 16:25:24 | Topic: Bus./Industry

Analyst: “…we think the Russian government will continue to resist Western pressure from the sanctions until the Ukrainian parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 2019.”

 


KYIV, Jan 4, 2018 - The Russian government is seeking ways to establish a cryptocurrency to help avoid crippling Western sanctions for the occupation of Ukraine, reported the ft.com news site on Jan. 2. At a recent meeting of Russian government officials, Putin advisor Sergei Glazyev said a cryptocurrency could be useful to carry out “sensitive activity on behalf of the state,” according to ft.com. “We can settle accounts with our counterparties all over the world with no regard for sanctions,” Glazyev said. The Kremlin is said to be looking into the blockchain technology behind bitcoin as the basis for a “cryptoruble,” the independent.co.uk news site reported.

 

Concorde analyst Zenon Zawada added: “Whether or not the Russian government pursues this plan, it confirms our view that it is working desperately to relax or remove the Western-imposed sanctions related to the occupation of Ukraine. Up until now, the Kremlin had been critical of cryptocurrencies as a potential threat to state security and facilitator of criminal activity, such as drug trafficking.

 

However, its increasingly precarious position because of the sanctions is now leading top officials to overlook such concerns, revealing that the pressure from the sanctions is intensifying. As we’ve stated, we think the Russian government will continue to resist Western pressure from the sanctions until the Ukrainian parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 2019.

 

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For more information, link here: www.concorde.ua 

 





This article comes from Ukraine Business Online
http://www.ukrainebusiness.com.ua

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