• Experts have detected a “significant increase” in the number of fraudulent crypto exchanges targeting Russians and Russian-speaking crypto traders.
• The surge is believed to be driven by an increasing volume of crypto-fiat transactions in Russia, as citizens look for ways to evade economic sanctions.
• Crypto industry insiders argue that only the legalization of crypto activities in Russia can put an end to the rise in bogus exchanges.
Sharp Rise in Bogus Russian Crypto Exchanges
Experts have detected a “significant increase” in the number of fraudulent crypto exchanges targeting Russians and Russian-speaking crypto traders. The surge is believed to be driven by an increasing volume of crypto-fiat transactions in Russia, as citizens look for ways to evade economic sanctions. Crypto industry insiders argue that only the legalization of crypto activities can put an end to this trend.
How Are Fraudsters Targeting Russians?
InformZashitae, a Russian security firm, explained that “unscrupulous exchange”-linked crypto transactions had “grown by one and a half times” recently. Additionally, experts noted a “triple growth” in the number of fraudulent cryptocurrency exchanges over the past year. Furthermore, fake exchange aggregators are also spreading rapidly according to Dmitry Stepanin, head of the Satoshkin exchange.
What Is Driving This Increase?
Experts claimed that this trend is linked with an increase in the volume of cryptocurrency trading activities among Russians who are looking for ways to avoid economic sanctions imposed on them by their government. Oleg Ogienko, head of government relations at BitRiver mining firm stated: “It is natural that any market undergoing explosive growth – such as cryptocurrencies – all kinds of scammers become active.“
What Can Be Done?
Ogienko suggested that cryptocurrency exchanges should initially operate under a government-controlled experimental legal regime or sandbox until they can be regulated properly by law enforcement agencies and pro-industry ministries within Russia. Politicians even proposed launching a national cryptocurrency exchange platform but this idea has been rejected by Central Bank due its anti-crypto stance . A bill on regulating cryptos was submitted last November but it failed due deep divisions between various stakeholders and lack support for it from other parties involved.
Conclusion
In conclusion, experts have detected a significant rise in fraudulent crypto exchanges targeting Russians which is believed to be fueled by citizens seeking methods to bypass economic sanctions imposed on them by their government. To prevent such occurrences from happening again proper regulation and legalization needs to take place so these fraudsters could no longer take advantage of unsuspecting victims through these bogus platforms