According to reports, Russia is considering using cryptocurrency for international payments

Meanwhile, Russia is hardly the only government contemplating the use of cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions. Iran has completed its first overseas trade order, importing products worth $10 million in cryptocurrencies.

The United Kingdom has ordered cryptocurrency exchanges to record transactions involving Russia.

UK officials have drafted new rules requiring cryptocurrency exchanges to notify transactions involving sanctioned entities such as Russia.

According to the new official guidance, crypto exchanges should also freeze crypto assets from sanctioned firms.

The guideline defined “crypto assets” as digital currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and others, as well as non-fungible tokens.

The measure followed worries that Russia may be utilizing cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions.

According to a Treasury spokesperson:

“It is vital to address the risk of cryptoassets being used to breach or circumvent financial sanctions. These new requirements will cover firms that either record holdings of, or enable the transfer of cryptoassets and are therefore most likely to hold relevant information.”