Russia has launched a plan to develop a monitoring tool for cryptocurrency wallets as part of efforts to fight cryptocurrency
Russia’s financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring appears to have taken the fight against crypto crime to another level after a report was released that it is funding the development of a crypto tracking tool. The country is reportedly building a tool that will keep an eye on crypto wallets that may be linked to illegal activities such as terrorism and crime. The tool will focus on Bitcoin in particular, although Russian federal authorities have also shown interest in tracking down other coins such as Ether and Monero in the past.
The contract to develop the proprietary tool was awarded to a company called RCO. The company is owned by Rambler, one of the country’s leading IT companies. Rosfinmonitoring will invest 14.7 million rubles (equivalent to about $ 200,000) in the project, up from the cost originally estimated at about $ 270,000.
The tracking tool will include a database of crypto wallets that will make it easier for authorities to track the activities of suspicious crypto users in accordance with the site’s government contracts.
Blockchain news agency CoinDesk, which first covered the matter, claims that the Russian Federation has been considering the idea of a crypto tracking tool since 2018. A project in the works around the same year was even funded as described by the reporting platform’s government contracts, but there is no record of its use.
The documentation of the current project indicates that the tool will be able to compile information about crypto users and evaluate their involvement in illegal activities. Rosfinmonitoring assumes that the project is effective and ensures the security of the budget. It’s worth noting that the tax authorities previously unveiled a project called Transparent Blockchain, which monitors the movement of virtual assets.
Cryptocurrencies are rapidly gaining popularity in the criminal arena, and anonymity has become a problem for most government agencies. Last month, the European Union tabled proposals to ban anonymous crypto transactions in order to curb terrorist financing and money laundering. The proposed proposals should cover all cryptocurrency entities and services. The US was also on its way to tracking crypto transactions after a surge in crypto-related crime.
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