David Carlisle, head of policy and regulatory affairs at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, said it would not be difficult for the Russian government or certain sanctioned entities to use mining as a way to acquire bitcoins. They could be converted into goods and services, or just cash. Countries such as Iran may have used mining of highly energy-intensive cryptocurrencies to convert their sanctioned energy sources into bitcoin and hard currency for their governments. About 4.5% of bitcoin mining activity last year occurred in Iran, potentially generating $1 billion in revenue for the Iranian government, Carlisle said. Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus have been two of the most popular countries, and some miners have relocated to Central Asia and Eastern Europe, including Russia. Carlisle lists crypto mining, cybercrime and non-compliant entities such as certain crypto exchanges as three possible avenues for Russia to weaken sanctions. However, given the size of Russia's economy and financial markets, cryptocurrencies are unlikely to play a significant role in helping Russia circumvent sanctions.