The problem won't be having money. The problem will be (hopefully) spending that to buy stuff. Sanctions should make sure companies can't receive money easily from Russia, i.e. have issues properly declaring those funds in their accounting. BTC won't help with that.
Russia has huge trade surplus and the solution seems to prevent Russia from spending money so that its trade surplus and currency reserves are even greater.
Something is off with that tactic, unless it expects Russian economy to crash via integer overflow.
Well, much better than trying to try to starve them when they have a huge trade surplus and over half a trillion in cash. You hit the enemy where he's weak, not where he's strong.
Which is great, because regular folk there will still be able to send and receive funds to their close ones in the EU, the US or even Ukraine, without fear of the corrupt authoritarian state intervening or taking their cut. Right?
It also, if you believe Saifedean Ammous, makes world wars impossibly unaffordable, once you achieve hyperbitcoinisation and it's no longer possible for governments to print money to fund conflict. It's probably one of the reasons why the world wars happened only after we started to move off the gold standard (definitely not the only one of course).
It is not being used to fund an invasion, but to fund a Ukranian military response[0]. Russia has banned crypto and crypto mining, and the only person that claims Russia is "using Bitcoin" is Dan Peña.
The road to hell is paved with good intensions isn't it?
The same users praising Signal about protecting the privacy of activists are also protecting the privacy of terrorists, criminals and extremists and with the introduction of a privacy coin called MobileCoin which makes funding invasions, scams and terrorist activities even more untraceable.
But at least Bitcoin is traceable. MobileCoin, Monero on the other hand...
You seem confused about freedom, and seem to think it means freedom to only do the things you want done.
Freedom does not mean people, or countries, must do what one deems right or wrong.
That is the reality of no restrictions on a thing.
As an aside, maybe, fighting a physical invasion with harsh words, wagging fingers, and paper thin "we won't talk to you any more" restrictions isn't the answer?
It's never worked before. It only hurts innocent civilians in the end. Dictators and tyrants, sadly, will only stop when you use force.
> As an aside, maybe, fighting a physical invasion with harsh words, wagging fingers, and paper thin "we won't talk to you any more" restrictions isn't the answer?
First, Ukraine is fighting a physical invasion into their territory with their army. The rest of NATO or Europe is not under attack and not at war with Russia. That isn't harsh words.
Second, this is an oversimplification to the point of ignorance. How long would you last if access to a bank was denied? How long do you think wherever you live would be okay?
I see downvotes, but history is an excellent predictor.
Russia is held in an iron grip. The public can not, and will not successfully rise up. Any threat to Putin is either dead, or jailed.
Now, with these restrictions and sanctions, another country, a long time friend of Russia, China, also undergoing trade restrictions, will clearly work with Russia even more closely.
Do people really think that China and Russia do not have the resources, and industry, to not care about sanctions?!
And again historically, when chaos reigns, people take advantage of opportunities. I fully expect China to finally take Taiwan very soon.
Literally, this is the best time for them to do so.
Ukraine is just the match, people. The real flames are not even visible yet.
If China really wants Taiwan then now's the time to do it. North Korea might as well take South Korea while all this is going on. Now I'm starting to think the world is descending into chaos. Or has it always been that way?
