Russian Central Bank Reports Success in Curbing P2P Cryptocurrency Transactions

According to Odaily, the Russian Central Bank has announced significant progress in its efforts to combat illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency transactions. The bank claims that the number of high-risk P2P transactions in the country has decreased by 2.8 times compared to 2023. This assertion was made in the latest financial stability assessment, which focused on the economic performance of the second and third quarters of the 2024 fiscal year. The Russian Central Bank has been collaborating with commercial banks nationwide to address this issue. Together, they have successfully blocked numerous transactions linked to P2P trading platforms. Despite the introduction of several cryptocurrency-related laws in Moscow during the latter half of 2024, the cryptocurrency trading market in Russia remains unregulated, with none of these laws addressing exchange-related issues. The market is highly decentralized and includes covert participants and companies claiming to facilitate cross-border cash transfers using cryptocurrencies. This has led to an expansion of the P2P market. In June 2023, a cybersecurity platform reported that Russian traders could conduct transactions worth approximately $296 million daily. The central bank's report highlights that underground cryptocurrency exchanges and P2P operators often use payment cards or accounts issued to fictitious individuals for settlements. Combating such schemes has become a priority, with ongoing cooperation with credit institutions to assist banks in blocking transfers. Additionally, global cryptocurrency platform website traffic from Russian IP addresses has surged by 56.5%, reaching 166.9 million visits. Russian visitors now account for 7.5% of all visitors to major global cryptocurrency trading platforms, marking a 1.3% increase since the last data release. Furthermore, the bank noted a 16% decline in the estimated balance of Russian cryptocurrency wallet holdings on exchanges in the third quarter of 2024 compared to March. Russians currently hold approximately $6.1 billion in these wallets, with 69% in Bitcoin, 21% in Ethereum, and 10% in stablecoins.