The Finance Minister of Russia has reportedly confirmed that many companies in the country are now using Bitcoin (BTC) to engage in foreign trade and skirt Western sanctions. Reuters reports that the Russian government has recently taken legislative measures to legalize the mining of the crypto king and other crypto assets, helping firms find ways […]
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Russia has all legal tools to use digital financial assets and Bitcoin in foreign trade, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.
Russia has been actively experimenting with digital financial assets (DFAs) in foreign trade in line with the country’s legislation, according to a senior government official.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov discussed US dollar alternatives for international trade in an interview on the state-owned news channel Russia-24 on Dec. 25.
Siluanov said the Russian government has passed legislation authorizing foreign trades in DFAs and Bitcoin (BTC).
Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm has petitioned a judge to drop the criminal charges against him after an appeals court found the Treasury unlawfully sanctioned the crypto mixer.
Roman Storm, the co-founder of crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash, has told a United States federal judge that his criminal charges should be dropped after an appeals court found sanctions against the platform’s smart contracts were unlawful.
Storm said in a Dec. 18 motion in a Manhattan district court that an opinion last month from the Fifth Circuit Appeals Court on a separate case finding the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) exceeded its authority in sanctioning Tornado Cash’s smart contracts “makes clear that all three counts of the indictment are fatally and legally flawed.”
He argued the opinion “most obviously impacts” his charge of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law central to the US sanctions apparatus, as the appeals court found the smart contracts “are not the ‘property’ of a foreign national or entity” meaning they “cannot be blocked” under the law.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has claimed that the European Union has suffered financial losses exceeding €1.5 trillion (approximately $1.58 trillion) due to sanctions imposed on Russia. Speaking in Moscow, Grushko described these sanctions as a “self-destructive” policy, criticizing the EU for making what he termed a costly political decision. He highlighted that these […]
China is closely studying Russia’s strategies for countering Western sanctions, viewing the situation as a model for preparing against similar economic measures in case of a Taiwan conflict. Beijing has reportedly formed an interagency group to analyze Russia’s experiences, from foreign reserve diversification to sanctions evasion tactics like shadow fleets and alternate trade routes. Chinese […]
A U.S. appeals court has ruled that the Treasury Department’s sanctions against the crypto mixer Tornado Cash were unlawful and an overreach of authority. In 2022, The Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash – which allows users to obfuscate and anonymize their crypto transactions on the Ethereum (ETH) network – under allegations […]
The post U.S. Court Sides With Tornado Cash and Overturns Sanctions, Says Smart Contracts ‘Not Property’ appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
A US appeals court ruled the Treasury’s OFAC “overstepped” when it sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado Cash’s smart contracts.
A United States appeals court has reversed a lower court’s decision, finding the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) exceeded its authority in sanctioning Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts — a major win for the protocol and its users.
In a Nov. 26 opinion, a Fifth Circuit Appeals Court three-judge panel said that while Treasury has the power to take action against “property,” Tornado Cash’s smart contracts were not property under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as they are immutable, meaning they can not be controlled or owned.
“We hold that Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts (the lines of privacy-enabling software code) are not the “property” of a foreign national or entity, meaning (1) they cannot be blocked under IEEPA, and (2) OFAC overstepped its congressionally defined authority,” the trio of judges wrote.
U.S. sanctions on Gazprombank may disrupt payment processes for Russian oil and gas buyers, potentially increasing energy costs in Europe, according to experts cited by Tass. Analysts warn that seeking alternative payment methods, such as using other banks or currencies, could heighten risks and complexity, driving up hydrocarbon prices. Alexander Frolov from the Institute of […]
Chinese banks have implemented additional compliance measures for payments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and Hong Kong, which have traditionally served as trade partners for Russia. These measures aim to identify Russian businesses using third countries as proxies to complete payments. Chinese banks now require documentation confirming that goods will be sent directly […]
Russia’s foreign trade is defying Western sanctions, with rising imports, resilient transaction systems, and projected economic growth outpacing stagnating Western economies. Western Sanctions Meet Resistance as Russia’s Trade Surges Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has claimed that Western sanctions will not hinder Russia’s foreign trade. Speaking in an interview with Nailya Asker-Zade on the Rossiya-24 […]