Effects of US/EU Sanctions on EU citizens and an alternative payment method using the privacy-protecting Monero (XMR) crypto currency

Summary

Alternative methods for financial transactions between politically active private citizens, who are under US/EU sanctions, are available using the privacy coin MONERO (XRM).  The sanctioned person can send and receive fiat currencies (ie, EUR, USD) and products & services in physical form (eg, cash) via a non-sanctioned persons as mediators while minimizing legal risks for the involved persons.

To send money to the sanctioned person, a remote non-sanctioned person, eg the employer, converts fiat currency,e.g., EUR or USD, to MONERO  (XMR) currency via an currency exchange (eg,  via changenow.io), transfers the MONERO currency anonymously and securely from the remote non-sanctioned person to the local sanctioned person (eg, via Monero Wallet App). The sanctioned person can then transfer the MONERO currency to a local non-sanctioned person, eg a friend, which converts the MONERO currency to fiat currency (eg, via Changenow.io). The local non-sanctioned person can then withdraw cash from a cash machine and handover paper money discreetly to the local sanctioned person. Then, the local sanctioned person can use the cash for (anonymous) purchases in local shops. Alternatively, the local non-sanctioned person may perform purchases in remote shops in fiat currency, receive the product and forward it anonymously and securely to the sanctioned person. The purchase of services for the sanctioned person may be limited by the degree of know-your-customer policies by the service provider, e.g. ride in taxi is possible, but ride in air plane may not be possible (see Figure 1 for illustration).

To send money from the sanctioned person, the steps need to be performed in reverse order.

The identities of the sanctioned and non-sanctioned persons and the details of their transfer in MONERO currency will be protected, since Monero currency transfer is anonymous and secure (as of now). If cash transfers or product transfers in real life are required, physical measures need to be taken to securely transfer the cash or product while protecting the identifies of the involved persons and the details of the transfer.

Figure 1: A schematic of economic transactions (currency, products, services) between sanctioned and non-sanctioned persons, companies or organisations using anonymous and secure transaction bypassing US or EU sanctions

Introduction

Here, I provide a technical analysis of US and EU sanctions against politically active EU citizens, which block their access to financial and economic transactions, and assess how effective these sanctions are by exploring existing, alternative financial transaction methods based on cryptocurrencies, esp. the privacy coin MONERO.

Disclaimer: Please follow your national laws and rules. No warranty is given for any of the given information. The discussed methods have only been evaluated theoretically and not applied in practice so far (updates will follow).

Effects on US/EU sanctions on individuals

US Sanctions

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintains lists of sanctioned individuals and sanctioned family members, including children, with the following direct consequences for sanctioned individuals [1].

A. Financial Restrictions

  • Asset Freezes:
    • U.S. banks must block accounts of sanctioned individuals.
    • Global banks often comply to avoid U.S. penalties.
  • Transaction Bans: Cannot send/receive money via U.S. dollars or institutions (e.g., PayPal, Wise).
  • Cryptocurrency Risks: Exchanges like Coinbase may block wallets linked to sanctioned addresses.

B. Travel Limits

  • Visa Denials: Sanctioned individuals (and sometimes their families) are ineligible for U.S. visas.
  • Secondary Travel Bans: Allies (e.g., UK, EU) may align with U.S. sanctions, restricting global mobility.

C. Business Disruptions

  • Contract Terminations: U.S. companies must cut ties with sanctioned individuals.
  • Investment Losses: Stocks or properties in the U.S. may be seized or frozen.

D. Reputation Damage

  • Global Blacklisting: Banks, employers, and partners may avoid sanctioned individuals to comply with U.S. laws.
  • Social Stigma: Association with regimes (e.g., being labeled a “Putin ally”) can harm personal/professional relationships.

Legal expert on international law and UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese described the effects of US Sanctions on her life as brutal, ie describing herself as “pennyless” and any US person financially interacting with Albanese risks a felony, which may be punished by a prison sentence of 20 years of jail and/or an 1 million USD fine [2].

EU Sanctions

European Commission maintains a list of sanctioned individuals (cf EU sanctions tracker), including relatives and children, with the following direct consequences for sanctioned individuals in all 27 EU member states [1]:

A. Asset Freezes

  • Bank Accounts: EU banks must freeze accounts of sanctioned individuals.
  • Property Seizures: Real estate, yachts, or luxury assets in the EU can be confiscated.

B. Travel Bans

  • Entry Denial: Sanctioned individuals are banned from entering the EU (Schengen Zone + non-Schengen states like Ireland).
  • Transit Restrictions: Even layovers in EU airports may be prohibited.

C. Financial Restrictions

  • Transaction Bans: EU companies/banks cannot process payments to/from sanctioned individuals.
  • Cryptocurrency Risks: EU-based exchanges (e.g., Bitstamp) may block wallets linked to sanctioned persons.

D. Business Disruptions

  • Contract Terminations: EU companies must cut ties with sanctioned individuals.
  • Investment Losses: Shares in EU companies may be frozen or sold.

E. Reputation Damage

  • Global Blacklisting: EU sanctions often trigger secondary compliance from non-EU banks (e.g., Swiss or UK institutions).
  • Social Stigma: Association with regimes (e.g., being labeled a “Putin ally”) can harm personal/professional relationships.

List of sanctioned politically active citizens

A list of sanctioned politically active or exposed individuals are available [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7], which have been sanctioned in the context of publications discussing the apartheid system, war crimes, and genocide by Israel:

  • May 2025: US sanctions, Alina Lipp and Thomas Röper, German bloggers
  • May 2025: EU sanctions against German journalist Hüseyin Doğru (and his wife) blocking their bank accounts and his freedom to travel (affecting their family with three children).
    Note: German Bundesbank, which is in charge of enforcing sanctions, granted him an exemption to withdraw a minimum subsistence allowance of €506 a month from his bank account. 
  • August 2025, US sanctions, Nicolas Guillou, a French judge at the International Criminal Court
  • Dezember 2025,  GLS Bank no specific reason,  Rote Hilfe e.V., a charity organization offering free legal advice to socialist-progressive activists, bank accounts were closed
  • December 2025, GLS Bank no specific reason, German Communist Party (DKP), bank account were closed
  • December 2025, Jacques Baud, a former employee of the Swiss intelligence service, military analyst, and regular commentator
    Note: In February 2026, he received a “humanitarian waiver” to access his bank accounts to meet essential needs.
  • Juni 2025, US sanctions, Beti Hohler, a Slowenian judge at the International Criminal Court
  • 2025, US sanctions: In total, 11 employees including 8 judges of the International Criminal Court

Interestingly, the German government approved the “Financial Crime Prevention Act” and established a new federal authority, “the Federal Office to Combat Financial Crime” (including the “Central Office for Sanctions Enforcement”) on Oct 11, 2023, at the same time of the start of the genocide in Gaza after Oct 7, 2023 [8].

Affected Financial and economic transactions

EU and US sanctions blocks access to the following activities, and thereby, to services and goods in general:

  • no local shopping with credit car,  bank card, bank account and, as a consequence, physical cash
  • no remote (online) shopping with credit card,  bank card, or bank account
  • no support by friends or family, who are afraid of or have been already sanctioned
  • no access to services and goods, including essential of daily life such as groceries
  • travel bans

The following basic actions are required for a person to participate in the economy and society again:

  • Activity 1, Sanctioned Person receives money (ie, “sell”, “get paid”):
    • Action 1.1: A remote non-sanctioned person converts fiat money to Monero
    • Action 1.2:  A remote non-sanctioned person sends Monero to a local sanctioned person
    • Action 1.3: Local sanctioned person sends Monero to a local non-sanctioned person
    • Action 1.4: A local non-sanctioned person converts Monero to a fiat money (cash)
    • Action 1.5: A local non-sanctioned person gives cash to a local sanctioned person
  • Activity 2, Sanctioned Person sends money (ie, “buy”, “pay”):
    • vice versa (analogous to Actions 1.1 to 1.5)

Here, the abstract types of actions are:

  • Tasks x.1: an exchange of abstract value (“booking”)
  • Tasks x.2: a conversion of abstract value into physical objects (electronic money -> paper money, electronic money -> products and services)

The distinction between remote and local persons should describe, whether direct physical transactions in real life are possible (eg, face-to-face, shared drop-off point, …).

Financial transactions using cryptocurrencies

Important concepts and terms

The following concepts and terms are used when describing different types of cryptocurrencies and related transactions [1]:

  • Types of Coins:
    • fiat coins: government-issued currency not backed by a physical commodity (like gold), but by trust in the issuing authority (e.g., USD, EUR, JPY).
    • altcoin: short for “alternative coin” is any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin (BTC), who was the first cryptocurrency.
    • stable coins: a type of cryptocurrency (eg, USDC, EURC) designed to minimize price volatility by pegging its value to a stable asset, such as a fiat currency (e.g., USD, EUR), a commodity (e.g., gold), or a basket of assets.
    • privacy coins: cryptocurrencies designed to obfuscate transaction details (sender, receiver, and amount) to enhance financial privacy and fungibility.
  • Types of Exchange platforms:
    • DEX: Decentralized Exchanges
    • CEX: Centralized Exchanges
    • non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange: a platform that allows users to trade or swap cryptocurrencies without the exchange holding or controlling their funds. Unlike traditional (custodial) exchanges, non-custodial platforms prioritize user control, privacy, and security by eliminating the need to deposit funds into the exchange’s wallets.
    • KYC: “Know your customer” registration at an organisation which requires personal identification with state-issued documents, eg, passport
  • Wallet: The software or hardware store of your cryptocurrency values, also used as synonym for the type of traded cryptocurrencies,
  • Types of transactions:
    • on-ramping: the process of converting traditional (fiat) money, eg, USD, EUR, into cryptocurrency
    • off-ramping: the process of converting cryptocurrency back into traditional (fiat) money, eg USD, EUR, or spending it in the real world
    • exchanging: swapping one currency for another at an agreed-upon rate.
    • pairing: quoting the value of one currency against another for trading purposes.
    • fungibility: the property of something whose individual units are considered fundamentally interchangeable with each other [3]
  • Types of consensus mechanism:
    • proof-of-work (PoW): a consensus mechanism used in blockchain networks (e.g., Bitcoin) where participants, called miners, compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles. The first user to solve the puzzle validates a new block of transactions and adds it to the blockchain [2]. This mechanism requires enormous amount of energy, eg Bitcoins energy consumption corresponds to Thailand (66 million people) in 2026. [4]
    • proof-of-stake (PoS):  a consensus mechanism in blockchain networks (e.g., Ethereum 2.0, Cardano) where participants, called validators, are chosen to create new blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they “stake” (lock up) as collateral. No energy-intensive puzzles are required.

Privacy Coins

Overview

Privacy coins are designed to hide transaction details (ie, sender, receiver, and amount) to protect financial privacy and fungibility [1].

The most active and widely used privacy coins in 2026 are [1]:

  1. Monero (XMR): Best for private payments (darknet markets, remittances, P2P trading).
  2. Zcash (ZEC): Compliance-friendly privacy (optional transparent transactions).
  3. Dash (DASH): Fast transactions (InstantSend) but weaker privacy.
  4. Firo (FIRO): Lelantus Spark for improved privacy and staking.
  5. Beam (BEAM): Mimblewimble-based with confidential assets.
  6. Grin (GRIN): Lightweight, censorship-resistant (no premine).
  7. Pirate Chain (ARRR): Mandatory privacy (Zcash fork).
  8. Secret (SCRT): Private smart contracts (Cosmos ecosystem).
  9. Oasis (ROSE): Confidential Paratime for private computation.

For Maximum Privacy: Monero (XMR) is the gold standard.
For Compliance: Zcash (ZEC) offers optional transparency.
For DeFi Privacy: Secret (SCRT) or Oasis (ROSE).
For Sanctioned Regions: Monero (XMR) or Grin (GRIN) (no KYC exchanges).

For this reason, the following explanations will focus on the crypto-currency Monero (XMR).

Monero

Monero (abbreviation: XMR) is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency which is private, untraceable, fungible, and decentralized [9, 10]:

The protocol is open-source and based on CryptoNote v2, a concept described in a 2013 white paper authored by Nicolas van Saberhagen. Developers used this concept to design Monero, and deployed its mainnet in 2014. The Monero protocol includes various methods to hide transaction details, though users can optionally share view keys for third-party auditing. Transactions are validated through a miner network running RandomX, a proof-of-work algorithm. The algorithm issues new coins to miners and was designed to be resistant against application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining.

Monero’s privacy features have attracted users desiring privacy measures not provided in other cryptocurrencies. A 2022 study in FSI Digital Investigations concluded “For now, Monero is untraceable. However, it is probably only a matter of time and effort before it changes.” Due to its perceived untraceability Monero is gaining increased use in illicit activities such as money laundering, darknet markets, ransomware, cryptojacking, and other organized crime [2], but also as a method to avoid state repression by human rights and ecological activists.

Application of Monero as alternative financial transaction method

A visual illustration of the following economic transactions is available in Figure 1 above.

Action 1.1: A remote non-sanctioned person converts fiat money to Monero

A remote non-sanctioned person, e.g. an employer or client, can convert fiat money, eg EUR, to Monero as follows:

  • Changenow.io, https://changenow.io
    • owned by CHN Group Limited, founded by Santiago Lefebvre (CEO), located in Belize City, Belize.
    • supports credit cards (Visa, Mastercard)!
    • support Monero (XMR)!

Since Monero allows anonymous money transfers, which is not in the interest of regulators, many Centralized Exchange Services with fiat currency support, do not trade Monero. Alternatively, one may convert fiat currency to another supported cryptocurrency, e.g., a stable coin,  on a fiat-crypto exchange and then convert it from the crypto currency, e.g., a stablecoin, to Monero on an crypto-crypto exchange (ie, Fiat -> Stablecoin -> Monero):

  1. FIAT -> STABLECOIN conversion
    • Simple App, https://simple.app
    • MoonPay, moonpay.com
    • Banxa, Banxa.com
  2. STABLECOIN -> MONERO conversion
    • FixedFloat, fixedfloat.com
    • Monero Swapper, moneroswapper.com
    • Cryptolocally, Cryptolocally.com

Note: Since fiat money is highly regulated this will usually require personal identification (Know Your Customer, KYC) on fiat-crypto exchanges. While this is unavoidable, I recommend using  non-US exchange platforms and non-US identity verification companies. For example, the well-known exchange platform KRAKEN (kraken.com) relies on the PERSONA (withpersona.com) id verification company, which is partially owned by technofascist Peter Thiel [11]. This way the risk of collecting personally identifiable data and profiling in organisations, which are hostile to democracy and the rule of law, is reduced. Alternatives are, for example, BANXA (banxa.com), which relies on SubSum (sumsub.com) as id verification service.

Action 1.2:  A remote non-sanctioned person sends Monero to a local sanctioned person

A remote non-sanctioned person, eg an employer or client,  sends Monero to a sanctioned person, eg a human rights lawyer. This is the first critical step, which needs to be performed in an anonymous and secure way, so electronic currency be transferred without disclosing the identity of the remote non-sanctioned person, the sanctioned person, and the details of the transaction:

  • Computer Apps (Desktop Wallets)
    • Official Monero GUI/CLI Wallet, https://www.getmonero.org/downloads/
  • Mobile Apps (Mobile Wallets)
    • Monerujo (Android), available in package repositories (Google Play Store, Aurora, F-droid)
    • Cake Wallet (iOS/Android), available in package repositories (Google Play Store/Aurora, Apple Store)

Action 1.3: Local sanctioned person sends Monero to a local non-sanctioned person

A local sanctioned person, eg a human rights lawyer,  sends Monero to a local non-sanctioned person, eg a close friend or relative. This is the second critical step, which needs to be performed in an anonymous and secure way, so electronic currency be transferred without disclosing the identity of the sanctioned person, the (local) non-sanctioned person, and the details of the transaction:

  • Computer Apps (Desktop Wallets)
    • Official Monero GUI/CLI Wallet, https://www.getmonero.org/downloads/
  • Mobile Apps (Mobile Wallets)
    • Monerujo (Android), available in package repositories (Google Play Store, Aurora, F-droid)
    • Cake Wallet (iOS/Android), available in package repositories (Google Play Store/Aurora, Apple Store)

Alternatively, the local sanctioned person can also convert MONERO money to a stable coin to store it until needed while minimizing value volatility (esp., loss).

Action 1.4: A local non-sanctioned person converts MONERO to fiat money (cash)

    A local non-sanctioned person, eg close friend or relative, converts MONERO to fiat money (eg, EUR) , including cash:

    • Changenow.io, https://changenow.io
      • owned by CHN Group Limited, founded by Santiago Lefebvre (CEO), located in Belize City, Belize.
      • supports credit cards (Visa, Mastercard)
      • support MONERO (XMR)

    Since MONERO allows anonymous money transfers, which are not in the interest of regulators, many Centralized Exchange Services with fiat currency support, do not trade MONERO. Alternatively, one may convert MONERO currency to another supported cryptocurrency, e.g., a stable coin,  on a crypto-crypto exchange and then convert it from the crypto currency, e.g., a stable coin, to fiat money on an crypto-fiat exchange (ie, Monero -> Stable coin ->Fiat):

    1. MONERO -> STABLECOIN conversion
      • FixedFloat, FixedFloat.com
      • Monero Swapper, moneroswapper.com
      • Cryptolocally, Cryptolocally.com
    2. STABLECOIN -> FIAT conversion
      • Simple App, https://simple.app
      • MoonPay, moonpay.com
      • Banxa, Banxa.com

    Note: Since fiat money is highly regulated this will usually require personal identification (Know Your Customer, KYC) on fiat-crypto exchanges. While this is unavoidable, I recommend using  non-US exchange platforms and non-US identity verification companies. For example, the well-known exchange platform KRAKEN (kraken.com) relies on the PERSONA (withpersona.com) id verification company, which is partially owned by technofascist Peter Thiel [11]. This way the risk of collecting personally identifiable data and profiling in organisations, which are hostile to democracy and the rule of law, is reduced. Alternatives are, for example, the exchange platform BANXA (banxa.com), which uses SumSub (sumsub.com) as id verification service.

    Action 1.5: A local non-sanctioned person gives cash to a sanctioned person

    Finally, the local non-sanctioned person can withdraw the fiat money as cash from a cash machine and can give the cash to the sanctioned person in a Face-to-Face (F2F) trade [13] or Cash-by-mail (CBM) trade [14] or via drop-off point while protecting their identities and the details of the transfer.

    Alternatively, the local non-sanctioned person can also purchase a product or service for the sanctioned person. A product can received by the local non-sanctioned person and transferred to the local sanctioned person while protecting their identities and details of the transaction or have the product sent to a postbox near the sanctioned person and send the collection code to the sanctioned person in a secure way.

        A product is easier to transfer than a service depending on the degree of Know-Your-Customer (KYC) policies of the service provider. This may require that the service provider requests the identity of the local non-sanctioned person and of the local sanctioned person, eg, the person who is paying for a hotel visit and the person actually visiting, which may expose both persons to legal risks of violating US/EU sanctions.

        Correspondingly, for Activity 2  “Sanctioned Person sends money (ie, “buy”, “pay”)”, the actions need to be reversed and modified analogously.

        Safety Recommendations

        Safety Behaviours

        The field of cryptocurrencies is developing fast and is complex. Therefore, beginners and advanced users need to cautious, apply common sense and perform  checks of the organisations, companies and the individuals, who they are planning interact with.

        The transferred financial values should be in the order of average salaries and not permanently stored in crypto wallets, esp at service provides, because of potential thefts [12], technical or human errors or shutdown of service, to minimize the impact of loss of a transaction or stored values. In addition, the non-sanctioned persons should not attract attention by their fiat bank or credit card issuer by frequent or large, unusual transactions.

        Furthermore, it is recommended to break down the transferred fiat currency sums in commonly used values, e.g. 100EUR, 500EUR, 1000EUR. The reason is that multiple transactions with multiple, informative digits, eg, 13.2436, 47EUR, booked on the account of  a remote non-sanctioned person and on the account of a local non-sanctioned person, if they happen to attract scrutiny by regulators, may be used as evidence to model the flow of financial values between the remote and local non-sanctioned persons.

        In principle, also the serial numbers of bank notes withdrawn from a cash machine by a local non-sanctioned person and the serial numbers of cash found with a local sanctioned person may be used to model the flow of financial transactions to construe a case against the local non-sanctioned person of breaking sanctions. However, serial numbers of everyday bank withdrawals (<=10,000USD, or <=10,000EUR) are usually not registered, so this issue seems highly theoretical.

        Review Websites

        It is highly recommended checking the reputation of organisations and companies on the website Trustpilot.com, which allows users to share good and bad experiences. One should not use services with overall low or medium ratings or if the company was excluded from Trustpilot.com, because of fraudulent reviews in favour of the company. Trustworthiness is rated on a 5-star Likert scale from “*”, ie 1 star (worst possible rating),  to “*****”, ie 5 stars (best possible rating).

        KYCnot.me is a directory website that lists cryptocurrency services such as exchanges, wallets, and other tools that do not require KYC (Know Your Customer) verification. The platform focuses on privacy and provides users with a curated list of services that allow for anonymous trading and transactions, making it easier to navigate the crypto world without sacrificing personal information. The platform provides scores of “Overall”, “Privacy”, and “Trust”  for cryptocurrency services [1].

        Other review web sites of cryptocurrency services are bittrust.org.

        Positive Reviews

        The following organisations and companies seem to have positive reviews (sorted from better to worse) and seem to be safe to use in general (Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion based on Trustpilot ratings without any warranty. I have not used the companies myself yet.):

        Trustpilot.com

        • Changenow.io: https://changenow.io: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/changenow.io
          • Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “4.6/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
          • supports Credit cards (MasterCard, Visa)
          • supports Monero (XMR)
          • Website
        • Simple App: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/simple.app
          • Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “4.3/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
          • supports credit cards via “Simple Crypto Card”, IBAN, Google Pay, Apple Pay
          • requires identification (KYC)
          • does not support Monero (XMR)
          • Android App
        • MoonPay: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/moonpay.com
          • Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “4.1/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
          • supports Mastercard, Visa, GooglePay, ApplePay, PayPal
          • does not support Monero (XMR)
        • Banxa.com: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/banxa.com
          • Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “4.1/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
          • supports MasterCard, Visa, Google Pay
          • does not support Monero (XMR)
        • Cryptolocally.com: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/cryptolocally.com
          • Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “4.0/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
          • supports 350 payments methods incl Credit cards, IBAN, Google Pay, Paypal, Western Union, …
          • does not support Monero (XMR)
        • FixedFloat.com: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/ff.io
          • Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “3.9/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
          • crypto-to-crypto swaps only (no fiat payments)
          • supports Monero (XMR)
        • Monero Swapper, https://www.trustpilot.com/review/moneroswapper.com
          • Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “3.8/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
          • supports Tor Hidden Service
          • crypto-to-crypto swaps only (no fiat payments)
          • supports Monero (XMR)

        OpenMonero (a clone of LocalMonero) has only 2 ratings (3.8/5), https://www.trustpilot.com/review/openmonero.com, which is not reliable.

        KYCnot.me

        • Retoswap.com: https://kycnot.me/service/retoswap
          KYCNOT.ME rating (2026-04-26): Overall: 9/10, Privacy: 90/100, Trust: 87/100
        • OpenMonero (a clone of LocalMonero): https://kycnot.me/service/openmonero
          KYCNOT.ME rating (2026-04-26): Overall: 9/10, Privacy: 92/100, Trust: 78/100
          Warning! OpenMonero was hacked and reports all funds stolen in the past (https://monero.observer/openmonero-hacked-reports-all-funds-stolen/).

        Negative Reviews

        Therefore, the following services have a high risk of negative user experience and should not be used;

        • LocalCoinSwap: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.localcoinswap.com
          Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “3.2/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
        • Crypto.com: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/crypto.com
          Trustpilot.com Rating  (2026-04-26): “1.3/5 (This company may be associated with high-risk investments.)”
        • Kucoin.com: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/kucoin.com,
          Trustpilot.com Note: “Breach of guidelines: We’ve removed a number of fake reviews for this company.”
        • Mexc.com: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.mexc.com
          Trustpilot.com Note: “Breach of guidelines: We’ve removed a number of fake reviews for this company.”

        Defunct Organisation and Companies

        The following websites and services have ceased to operate:

        • https://localmonero.co
          Note: “The winding down process begins May 7th, 2024, and finishes after November 7th, 2024.”
        • https://localbitcoins.com
          Note: “Starting 1 July 2025, no maintenance fees will be charged on customer assets.” 
        • https://agoradesk.com
          Note: “The winding down process begins May 7th, 2024, and finishes after November 7th, 2024.”
        • https:/mymonero.com
          Note: “After over a decade of serving the Monero ecosystem, MyMonero has decided to sunset its wallet service on Tuesday, January 06, 2026. We’ve worked closely with the Cake Wallet team to help provide continuity for our users, given their strong track record in the Monero community. “

        References

        [1] https://chat.mistral.ai/

        [2] https://jacobin.com/2026/03/eu-us-sanctions-gaza-russia

        [3] https://www.opensanctions.org,

        [4] https://data.europa.eu/apps/eusanctionstracker/subjects/

        [5] https://www.sanctionsmap.eu

        [6] https://www.zeit.de/2026/18/beti-hohler-istgh-richterin-sanktionen-donald-trump-usa?freebie=f19c2b56

        [7] UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese on US sanctions, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u3BmchwGBeA#

        [8] https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=51f80910-3b41-46ff-aae3-d1fb43f75ddc

        [9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monero

        [10] https://github.com/moneroexamples/openmonero

        [11] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2025/jan/29/silicon-valley-rightwing-technofascism

        [12] https://monero.observer/openmonero-hacked-reports-all-funds-stolen/

        [13] https://docs.haveno.exchange/overview/payment_methods/F2F/

        [14] https://docs.haveno.exchange/overview/payment_methods/Pay_By_Mail/#sending-cash-in-the-mail

        Other References:

        https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption

        https://www.bitget.com/academy/local-crypto-markets

        Maverick (2025-05-01). Ultimate RetoSwap Tutorial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-C2idComHo

        Kopyciok, Y., Victor, F., & Schmid, S. (2025). Moneros Decentralized P2P Exchanges: Functionality, Adoption, and Privacy Risks (arXiv:2505.02392). arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.02392

        http://wilmarigl.de

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