Russia Could Mine Bitcoin To Evade Sanctions: International Monetary Fund Warns

Russia could mine Bitcoin BTC/USD in an effort to evade the economic sanctions that were imposed on the nation after it invaded Ukraine, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

What Happened: In a recently released report, the IMF argues that Russia could use its vast energy resources to power cryptocurrency mining farms and generate revenue despite widespread sanctions. The paper suggests that, "over time, sanctioned countries could also allocate more resources toward evading sanctions through mining. Mining for energy-intensive blockchains like Bitcoin can allow countries to monetize energy resources, some of which cannot be exported due to sanctions."

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The IMF admitted that currently the share of mining in sanctioned countries — and also revenue derived from this activity — "is relatively contained, although risks to financial integrity remain." 

As Benzinga reported at the end of May, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Evgeny Grabchak is urging that cryptocurrency mining be regulated, effectively legitimized, as quickly as possible. He explained that "the legal vacuum makes it difficult to regulate this area and set clear rules of the game" and that lack of clarity on mining crytpo "needs to be [eliminated] as soon as possible."