On March 4, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong took to Twitter to address the “question/discussion of whether cryptocurrencies can be used to avoid sanctions.” He said every U.S. company must obey the law — whether your company deals with dollars, cryptocurrencies, gold, real estate or even non-financial assets. Sanctions laws apply to all U.S. individuals and businesses.
Therefore, it would be a mistake to think that a crypto business like Coinbase will not comply with the law. But Armstrong doesn’t think the risk of Russian oligarchs using cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions is high. Because it’s an open ledger, trying to steal large amounts of money through cryptocurrencies is easier to track than using dollar cash, art, gold, or other assets.
Also, they will not pre-emptively ban all Russians from using Coinbase. Because they believe that unless the law provides otherwise, everyone should have access to basic financial services. Finally, he said that if the U.S. government decides to impose a ban, Coinbase will comply with these laws.
