Crypto investors have helped send more than $50 million in donations to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia, but now U.S. officials are warning of new risks for those investors here at home.
The United States Treasury is concerned Russia could carry out cyberattacks on crypto companies — including the exchanges that hold many investors’ coins — as retribution for western sanctions, Reuters reported last week. The U.S. and its European allies have implemented severe sanctions on Russia to try and inflict as much economic pain as possible while it wages war on Ukraine.
To evade sanctions, Russia could lean on crypto as a form of currency since the “international financial rules and regulations are not as easily applied to cryptocurrency,” says Adam Levin, a cybersecurity expert and host of the “What the Hack” podcast. “It’s no surprise Russians are using it in the face of economic sanctions,” he says.
And as Russia’s war in Ukraine goes on, there could be more cybercrime and attempted scams for investors to look out for in coming weeks or months, Levin says. Concerns over Russian-linked hackers are not new: a recent analysis suggests more than 70% of all money made through ransomware hacks in…
