Russia: Gov’t Hopes to Monitor Crypto Transactions

Cryptocurrency Regulation Russia
Last updated:
Author
Author
Tim Alper
About Author

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

Last updated:
Why Trust Cryptonews
Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews

Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (also known as Rosfinmonitoring) – a government agency tasked with fighting financial fraud and terrorist funding – will attempt to track the cryptocurrency transactions of suspected Russian terrorists, drug traffickers and money launderers.

Source: iStock/LaraBelova

The agency appears to have commissioned a developer to create a software solution that allows it to monitor suspects’ cryptocurrency wallets in the same way governments can access phone records and bank account activities.

Per the BBC and Russian media outlet Moika78, Rosfinmonitoring hopes to have the solution up and running by the end of the year, and has been planning to implement it since March this year. Moika78 says it is unclear as to whether the solution, which per government documents claims to be capable of tracing Bitcoin activity, will also allow the agency to monitor other tokens.

The BBC claims that documents show that a Moscow-based intelligence software provider named SPI is the solution’s developer. SPI appears to have been paid some USD 286,000 by the state for its services in April.

SPI is the developer of data mining and crime-fighting software such as iRule, VisuaLinks, i2, Watson and CrimeLink, and has previously supplied solutions to the Federal Security Service (the post-Soviet successor to the KGB), Russia’s Central Bank and major Russian commercial banks such as Sberbank and VTB Bank.

Most blockchain advocates believe that the widespread adoption of this innovative new technology will lead to a freer, fairer and more transparent society where peer-to-peer transactions will be the norm. However, there is also a flipside to the blockchain that has not yet been widely discussed in the media.

Blockchain technology could also be misused by malicious governments to foster authoritarian regimes, as reported. It could track all financial transactions through a sovereign digital currency on a permissioned ledger, use blockchain-based digital identities to track citizen’s digital footprints, create an immutable social credit scoring system, and store falsified records on a public sector blockchain.

More Articles

Price Analysis
Binance Coin Faces Strong Selling – Can It Recover and Overtake Ethereum?
Alejandro Arrieche
Alejandro Arrieche
2025-02-17 17:27:54
Blockchain News
Germany’s Central Bank President Advocates for Digital Euro to Bolster Financial Independence
Jimmy Aki
Jimmy Aki
2025-02-17 17:02:14
Crypto News in numbers
editors
Authors List + 66 More
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors