Elliptic investigated wallet addresses directly related to Russian affected by the sanctions applied on Russia. Peer-to-peer bitcoin trading volumes in Russia have tripled recently.
Blockchain analytics company Elliptic focused its efforts on collecting valuable data to help prevent Moscow from circumventing the package of sanctions applied by the United States of America and the European Union, using bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets.
In this sense, the company has revealed data that points to the use of crypto assets for illicit activities led by Russian citizens and business people. Investigations directly united more than 15 million cryptocurrency addresses to criminal activity based on Russian territory.
The company’s March 14 report remarked that cryptocurrency exchanges and businesses could screen transactions and wallets to track exposure to crime and make sure the funds don’t face laundering.
Elliptic expressed they have identified thousands of cryptocurrency addresses linked to sanctioned individuals or companies in Russia. On the other hand, they highlighted that they are currently leading an investigation on cryptocurrency wallets that would get connected to Russian officials subject to sanctions.
Peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange volumes have tripled in Russia after the attacks on Ukraine. The rise appears obvious as the international community puts pressure on Moscow through economic sanctions; this news comes from Tom Robinson, co-founder of Elliptic.
This information highlights that, along with the imminent fall of the ruble, Russian citizens intend to avoid capital controls and circumvent the devaluation of the currency towards digital assets.
The Role of Digital Assets Such as Bitcoin in the War
The war became some kind of booster for Ukraine to become the first nation in history to accept bitcoin and other digital assets to sustain the defense of its regions against the Russian invasion.
Ukraine recently received donations based on bitcoin, Ether, and the stable cryptocurrency Tether; they also accept donations based on its version of the Ethereum network).
A collection website got created by a Ukrainian NGO and received the name”Come Back Alive.” The government of Ukraine, and the organization together have collected at least $63.8 million through more than 120,000 donations of crypto assets since the beginning of the Russian attacks over Ukrainian territory.
Cryptoasset fundraising campaigns to back up the Ukrainian military also organized themselves outside Ukraine. UkraineDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that aims to collect Ether to send it to Come Back Alive.
Scammers also benefited from the current conflict by deceiving unaware users wishing to donate funds to support the Ukrainian causes. Elliptic has already detected many fraudulent crypto fundraising scams exploiting the current situation in Europe.
By: Jenson Nuñez
