Fortune – Jacob Carpenter, Data Sheet: “For the vast majority of those watching the rapid rise of cryptocurrency, its emergence has been something of a curious novelty. Is crypto a high risk-reward investment? A shiny new tech toy? The future of money? A pyramid scheme? Russia’s nascent war against Ukraine, however, shows that it’s time for the public at large, crypto advocates, and the federal government to hold much deeper conversations about the role of digital currencies in our economic future. As the U.S. and its NATO allies prepare to launch stiffer sanctions against Russia for its attack on a sovereign nation, which could include cutting off access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) global financial payments system, the The New York Times reported Wednesday that Russian leaders could blunt the impact by trading with friendly faces on dark web cryptocurrency markets.  Federal, global, and commercial officials have said other foreign foes of the U.S., including Iran and North Korea, have already turned to digital currency to raise capital following sanctions from democratic nations…”