As the situation in Ukraine becomes more unpredictable by the day, the US and other NATO nations have sought to deter aggression by imposing sanctions on Russia. Previously, the West imposed similar sanctions, which cost Russia an estimated $50 billion a year. With the new round of sanctions, Russia is looking to do business with anyone in the world willing to work with them, and they may use cryptocurrency to bypass traditional control points the governments rely on to block deals.
Just sanction the crypto, right? Sanctions are lists of people and businesses citizens must avoid and governments will enforce hefty fines for anyone caught doing otherwise. Keeping track of these sorts of business dealings often falls to the global financial system, with banks playing a pivotal role in seeing where funds come and where they go. Unfortunately, the "Know Your Customer" rules of the banking system by design do not apply to crypto exchanges.
With the possibility of Russian stake hackers using ransomware to steal crypto and the Russian market using those assets to bypass sanctions, both the West and Russia know that this round may be different.
Telling it like it is - It would be more surprising if Russia had learned nothing from Crimea…