The Ukrainian government escalated its rhetoric against Russian cryptocurrency users on Sunday, saying it was time to “perform sabotage against ordinary users.”
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said he requested “all major cryptocurrency exchanges to block addresses of Russian users.” He had earlier solicited information on digital wallets linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, saying the Ukrainian cryptocurrency community was ready to offer “generous rewards” to anyone who provided clues.
I'm asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 27, 2022
It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.
CEOs of some exchanges openly express support for Ukraine
In response to the appeal of Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, the CEOs of some of these exchanges have publicly expressed their support for Ukraine since the war.
In response to Western sanctions against Russia, Binance said: “We have formed a dedicated global compliance working group that includes world-renowned sanctions experts and are taking the necessary steps to ensure that we are sanctioned against those who are sanctioned,” Bloomberg reported. Take action while minimizing the impact on innocent users.”
Synthetic asset platform Public Mint announced that multiple countries are imposing economic sanctions on Russia, and in order to comply with relevant requirements, accounts of residents of Russia and Belarus are temporarily banned from fiat currency deposits and withdrawals.
In addition, DMarket, an NFT and in-game metaverse item trading platform, announced that, as a startup born in Ukraine, it has decided to cut off all ties with Russia and Belarus: ban Russian and Belarusian users from registering on the platform; freeze previously registered in these regions User account; all assets and skins remain in the user account, but access to their use is currently restricted; the platform no longer supports Russian rubles. If someone’s account is frozen by mistake, or they are not citizens of Russia or Belarus, please confirm through KYC and the platform will reopen their account.
However, in addition to the above platforms, as of press time, the “request” of the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine has not received a positive response from other crypto communities.
Kraken says it can’t freeze Russian customer accounts
It is worth mentioning that Kraken CEO Jesse Powell responded that I understand the rationale for this request, but despite my deep respect for the Ukrainian people, we cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian customers without a legal requirement. The hardest thing about having power is knowing when not to use it. Our mission is better served by placing individual needs above those of any government or political affiliation. People’s money is the exit strategy of mankind, a weapon of peace, not a weapon of war. If we were to voluntarily freeze the financial accounts of residents of countries around the world that have unjustly attacked and provoked violence, the first step would be to freeze all U.S. accounts. Actually, it’s not really a viable business option for us.
1/6 I understand the rationale for this request but, despite my deep respect for the Ukrainian people, @krakenfx cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian clients without a legal requirement to do so.
— Jesse Powell (@jespow) February 28, 2022
Russians should be aware that such a requirement could be imminent. #NYKNYC https://t.co/bMRrJzgF8N