Share this article
Treasury Department Issues Guidance on Using Crypto to Evade Sanctions
The Biden administration said earlier in the day that such guidance would be forthcoming.
By Nelson Wang
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:14 p.m. Published Mar 11, 2022, 11:18 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
In this article
The U.S. Treasury Department issued guidance on Friday spelling out how cryptocurrency should not be used to circumvent economic sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
- In a FAQ on whether Russia-related sanctions extend to virtual currency, the department wrote that “U.S. persons, including virtual currency exchanges, virtual wallet hosts, and other service providers, such as those that provide nested services for foreign exchanges, are generally prohibited from engaging in or facilitating prohibited transactions, including virtual currency transactions in which blocked persons have an interest.”
- The FAQ said that U.S. persons are also barred from engaging in or facilitating prohibited transactions by a non-U.S. person, “including virtual currency transactions involving the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation, or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.”
- U.S. financial institutions are also generally prohibited from processing transactions, including virtual currency transactions, involving targeted financial institutions.
- The Biden administration and G7 group of nations said earlier on Friday that such guidance on crypto transactions with respect to sanctions would be forthcoming.
- The new guidance comes shortly after after U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced she was drafting a bill to prevent Russian oligarchs or President Vladimir Putin from using crypto to evade sanctions.
Read more: Justice Department Will Prosecute Banks, Crypto Exchanges That Help Russians Hide Assets: Report
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
More For You
Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
More For You
El Salvador's central bank buys $50 million of gold as government keeps adding bitcoin
The bitcoin-friendly nation's central bank now holds over $360 million of the yellow metal, while the government, led by President Nayib Bukele, has bitcoin holdings worth $635 million.
What to know:
- El Salvador's central bank added $50 million of gold to its reserves on Thursday.
- The country also made its usual purchase of 1 bitcoin, bringing the government’s holdings to 7,547 coins, worth $635 million.
Top Stories
