philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

In the world’s first crypto war, uncertainty about who will benefit

... The first major conflict of the crypto era also means that, for the first time ever, a tool that can move billions of dollars easily across borders is available to be marshaled by both sides.

“Because there is no central controller who can impose their morals on its user, crypto can be used to crowdfund for the Ukrainian army or help Russia evade sanctions,” said Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder at the crypto analytics firm Elliptic. “No one can really prevent it from being used in either way.”

But how much it could truly influence the war remains to be seen. ...

Both sides have deep roots in crypto. Chainalysis ranks Ukraine as the top European adopter of cryptocurrency and the fourth biggest in the world. In September, the country legalized crypto after years of murkiness, and its new Ministry of Digital Transformation has released video ads recruiting tech start-ups that could include crypto. ...

“The problem is the off-ramp. You could theoretically move all the payments you want, but until you can buy a burger down the street, there’s not much you can do with the money,” said Nick Furneaux,·managing director at the U.K.-based investigative firmCSITech and author of the book “Investigating Cryptocurrencies.” ...

See the full story here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/25/cryptocurrency-ukraine-russia-war-impact/?ck_subscriber_id=958930034&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=In+the+world’s+first+crypto+war%2C+uncertainty+about+who+will+benefit+%7C+Web3+Saturday%20-%207666666