The use of cryptocurrencies is increasing in Russia, the head of the country's financial watchdog has reported to President Putin. The agency, Rosfinmonitoring, is tracking thousands of participants in digital asset transactions with a new blockchain analytics system, the official revealed.
Volume of crypto transactions in Russia almost USD 13 billion, according to financial authority
The turnover of crypto assets in Russia is growing, according to Yury Chikhanchin, head of the Federal Service for Financial Supervision of the Russian Federation (rosfinmonitoring), who briefed President Vladimir Putin on the agency's current operations.
The watchdog is monitoring the activities of more than 25,000 participants in crypto transactions, the executive revealed in a meeting with the head of state. The service has also identified about a dozen financial organizations that provide assistance to them.
Quoted by the RBC business news portal, Putin remarked that wherever money or new financial instruments appear, "scammers" also appear. Chikhanchin admitted that the use of cryptocurrencies is increasing in Russia in the absence of comprehensive regulation.
โWe believe that the turnover of cryptocurrencies today is more than 630,000 bitcoins,โ he detailed without giving further details. At current rates, that amount of BTC is approaching $13 billion in fiat equivalent. According to an estimate cited by the Bank of Russia in 2021, the annual volume of crypto transactions made by Russians at the time was around $5 billion.
Rosfinmonitoring has carried out around 120 cryptocurrency-related investigations and initiated more than 60 criminal cases. Chikhanchin noted that this was made possible by the launch of Russia's new 'Transparent Blockchain' platform.
โA year ago, the service could only track bitcoin, but using this system allows you to see the movements of more than 20 different crypto assets,โ the official explained. The cryptanalysis tool is currently undergoing tests at the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Security Service and the Investigative Committee. Other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States have shown interest in obtaining it.
The Transparent Blockchain was employed in efforts to shut down the Hydra darknet market, as part of cooperation with law enforcement agencies and representatives of financial intelligence organizations from other nations.
The website was demolished in early April 2022, when German authorities seized his services in a US-supported operation. An alleged administrator, Russian citizen Dmitry Pavlov, was arrested later that month.
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