London-based company Elliptic, which specializes in analyzing Blockchain networks for investors and various institutions, has identified a suspicious cryptocurrency wallet containing the equivalent of several million dollars. It is suspected that it may be connected to Russian oligarchs.
The control of transactions with Russia
Elliptic, as part of its work with authorities, is constantly monitoring Blockchain networks for possible links between individual transactions with Russia. It has just discovered a suspicious wallet containing digital assets equivalent to several million dollars.
According to preliminary speculations, it may be directly linked to Russian oligarchs who use cryptocurrencies to try and bypass economic sanctions.
A suspicious address
Tom Robinson, the co-founder of Elliptic, stated in a TV interview that his company has stumbled upon a mysterious cryptocurrency address. It is possible that it is being used to bypass economic sanctions by Russia. However, there is not enough evidence to prove this.
According to Robinson, prominent Russian citizens are not using cryptocurrencies on a scale large enough to undermine the severity of sanctions imposed by Western leaders. The report compiled by Elliptic did not include information on the exact value of the assets deposited in the wallet. Also, no information was provided about their type.
Russia and cryptocurrencies
Some of the most well-known cryptocurrency exchanges, complying with the sanctions imposed on Russia, block wallets belonging to Russian Federation citizens. Such a decision was made by the administrators of Coinbase and Binance platforms, among others.
However, other service providers of this kind have not restricted their activities. It is worth mentioning Tornado Cash, a company that deals with data anonymization in the Ethereum network.
The counterbalance is the numerous donations made to Ukraine via Blockchain technology. The Ukrainian government and NGOs supporting Ukraine’s armed forces have received about $93.6 million in cryptocurrencies so far.