<\/p>\n
As the West continues to impose more sanctions against Russian banks following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, one Ukrainian official has called for sanctions on Russians\u2019 cryptocurrency holdings as well.<\/p>\n
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine\u2019s Minister of Digital Transformation, took to Twitter on Sunday to urge the global cryptocurrency exchanges to block addresses of Russian users.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that exchanges should freeze not only the addresses tied to Russia and Belarus officially but also to \u201csabotage ordinary users.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nI’m asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. <\/p>\n
It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Fedorov <\/strong>subsequently pointed out<\/a>\u00a0that some industry-related services have already moved to freeze assets from Russia and Belarus, including the nonfungible token platform DMarket.<\/p>\n
\u201cFunds from these accounts could be donated to the war effort. Nowadays Robin Hoods. Bravo,\u201d Fedorov stated. He also cited<\/a> the ongoing measures taken by the social media giant Meta regarding Russia\u2019s attack on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\nUkrainian-born startup DMarket cuts all relationships with Russia and Belarus due to the invasion of Ukraine. <\/p>\n
– The registration on the platform is prohibited for users from Russia and Belarus;<\/p>\n
– Accounts of previously registered users from these areas are frozen;<\/p>\n
\u2014 DMarket (@dmarket) February 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Fedorov\u2019s appeals could potentially be catastrophic for the Russian cryptocurrency market, as Russians were estimated to hold more than $200 billion\u00a0in crypto as of early February.<\/p>\n
As the Russian ruble has been plummeting against the U.S. dollar and the euro, Russians have been increasingly cashing out their bank holdings and apparently considering crypto investments. As such, BestChange, a major crypto exchange aggregator in Russia, has observed a 20% increase in visits following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a spokesperson for the firm told Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n
Leaving Russia could also be disastrous for major global exchanges like Binance as the Russian market is apparently Binance\u2019s second-biggest market after Turkey in terms of website traffic.<\/p>\n
Binance won’t freeze Russians’ Bitcoin<\/h2>\n
Binance does not plan to freeze assets by Russians because this would contradict cryptocurrency’s main principles of financial freedom, a spokesperson for the firm told Cointelegraph on Monday:<\/p>\n
“We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users\u2019 accounts. Crypto is meant to provide greater financial freedom for people across the globe.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The representative added that the exchange is taking measures to ensure that sanctions are against sanctioned entities in Russia, while “minimizing the impact to innocent users.” “Should the international community widen those sanctions further, we will apply those aggressively as well,” the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n
Some crypto executives believe that sanctions against Russia are eventually inevitable. However, they should target only select persons as the United States\u2019 Office of Foreign Assets Control usually does.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think that the sanctions will be inevitable by naming new sanctioned persons as US\/OFAC has done in the past. However, banning all crypto companies from offering services to ordinary Russians, would not make sense and would cause more harm for everyday people than good,\u201d LocalBitcoins chief marketing officer Jukka Blomberg told Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n
Kraken CEO Jesse Powell\u00a0also said that Kraken exchange\u00a0will not be able to freeze the accounts of the exchange’s Russian clients without a legal requirement. “Russians should be aware that such a requirement could be imminent,” he added.\u00a0Powell previously recommended<\/a> Kraken users to move their crypto assets out of the exchanges, referring to Canada’s Emergency Act freezing the crypto of dissidents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n1\/6 I understand the rationale for this request but, despite my deep respect for the Ukrainian people, @krakenfx<\/a> cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian clients without a legal requirement to do so.<\/p>\n
Russians should be aware that such a requirement could be imminent. #NYKNYC<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/bMRrJzgF8N<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jesse Powell (@jespow) February 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The act had pushed crypto companies to freeze Bitcoin (BTC) wallets related to local anti-vaccine protests in mid-February.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s yet to be seen whether other crypto exchanges opt to freeze Russia\u2019s crypto assets, many crypto companies have been actively working to support Ukrainian refugees and soldiers.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Binance launched the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund to provide emergency relief through crypto crowdfunding. The crypto exchange also donated $10 million to help the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\n#Binance<\/a> is donating $10 million to help the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine<\/p>\n
Our focus is providing on-the-ground support through charity & collaboration.@BinanceBCF<\/a> also launched the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund to provide emergency relief through crypto crowdfunding.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Binance (@binance) February 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Related: <\/em><\/strong>Ukraine accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT donations amid ongoing war<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Crypto payment processor CoinGate has introduced a similar initiative as well, opening a special fundraising account to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The fundraising effort aims to allow users to donate in more than 70 cryptocurrencies, with the funds going directly to the National Bank of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\nPayment processor @CoinGatecom<\/a> has designed a portal to support Ukraine with #Litecoin<\/a> donations. Beware of fake copycat sites. https:\/\/t.co\/My7sZbwBeG https:\/\/t.co\/pNgLCyf7VX<\/p>\n