Moody’s agency conducted a study claiming that crypto-assets are not a viable option for Russia to circumvent sanctions.
“Given the limited size and low liquidity of the ruble-to-cryptocurrency conversion market, we believe that crypto-assets are unlikely to provide individuals with a viable and effective solution to circumvent sanctions at this time,” the agency said.
Moody’s recalled that Russia can accept cryptocurrency payments for oil and gas exports. However, experts believe that the current size of the market and insufficient liquidity also make this option unacceptable for Russia.
In addition, the agency noted that large crypto platforms are often required to comply with anti-money laundering requirements and follow KYC verification procedures, which will help identify blacklisted users and prevent sanctions evasion.
“A centralized digital asset platform with well-established verification and appropriate registration processes would be able to flag and deactivate blacklisted accounts,” analysts concluded.