Despite a request from a Ukrainian government official, Coinbase “would not put a blanket ban on all Coinbase transactions with Russian addresses.”
“A unilateral and comprehensive ban would penalize regular Russian citizens who are facing unprecedented currency volatility as a result of their government’s actions against a democratic neighbor,” a representative for the popular US-based exchange told Decrypt.
Since being invaded by Russian soldiers, Ukraine has received $20 million in Bitcoin donations targeted for military assistance. However, it is mindful that its adversary can utilize cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions or ease economic strains on its citizens.
Mykhailo’s call to major crypto exchanges including Coinbase to block Russians
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, made a public call to “all major crypto exchanges to ban addresses of Russian users” over the weekend. “It’s necessary to freeze not just the addresses associated to Russian and Belarusian authorities, but also to sabotage regular people,” Fedorov tweeted.
Coinbase has joined a growing number of cryptocurrency exchanges that have refused to comply with the Ukrainian government’s request.
“Crypto is supposed to bring more financial independence for people all over the world,” Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, told CNBC on Monday. To decide unilaterally to deny individuals access to their crypto would be a direct violation of the purpose of crypto.”
Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, remarked on Twitter, “Focusing on individual needs rather than those of any government or political group better serves our objective. The People’s Money is a human escape plan, a weapon for peace rather than conflict.”
Most, including Powell, have stated that they will comply if sanctions are extended to individual Americans.
Although Coinbase is not available to Russian consumers, it does not prevent its customers from transacting using Russian addresses. “All sanctions that have been imposed will continue to be implemented,” the official added, “including barring accounts and transactions that may implicate sanctioned persons or businesses.”
It’s hard to ignore the fact that Putin’s unscrupulous actions have put fellow Ukrainians and Russian citizens at risk. Russia’s unethical decisions have gained them geographical power, money, and a lot of hate.
