Following great anticipation, it looks like the U.S. government is finally taking a hard stance on crypto regulation. However, the proposed regulations may not be what investors initially were expecting. Instead, a new policy is a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Specifically, the U.S. is seeking to punish Russia with a ban on certain transactions.
So what do you need to know?
Right now, the U.S. response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict is mostly through sanctions. Global leaders are working to disincentivize Russia, freezing assets and sending the Russian ruble into a nosedive. The U.S. and its peers have voted to remove some Russian banks from the SWIFT banking system as well. As InvestorPlace contributor William White reported today, a number of U.S. companies are joining in the effort by refusing to provide their goods and services to Russia.
Crypto News Features Focus on Russian Crypto Trades
Today’s crypto news does not come in the form of regulations investors have been expecting for a while now. Rather, it continues to build on the sanctions the U.S. is imposing on Russia While the ruble is now in the midst of turmoil, the U.S. wants to punish Russian crypto holders.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury indicated that it is drafting up new sanctions against the Russian Federation. The new regulation at hand is called the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions, and it sets cryptocurrency in its sights as the next avenue for economic punishment. These new regulations build on an April 2021 executive order by President Joe Biden; the previous order attempted to mitigate Russia’s involvement in foreign activities, be it through misinformation, election influencing or cyber attacks.
Under the new regulation, transactions of cryptocurrency to Russian addresses will face prohibitions. The new rules are currently in draft form and will go into effect tomorrow.
In recent months, investors have been anticipating some form of federal regulation on digital currency. Biden was supposed to issue an executive order on the assets; this order would be the first step in establishing broader legislation from Congress. With the Russia-Ukraine conflict in focus though, the White House has not yet released this executive order.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
