Satoshi Labs, the company behind the famous hardware wallet Trezor, has announced that it would no longer ship its products to Russia and Ukraine.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more crypto-related firms are boarding the sanctions train that is making its way across the world. This time, it’s a big name in the hardware wallet industry.
Trezor.io made an announcement through its website,
“Shipments to Ukraine and Russia have been temporarily halted due to the present circumstances in these countries, which is beyond our control.” We are currently uncertain when we are allowed to begin exporting to Russia and Ukraine. However, we hope that the situation will improve fast.”
Impact of Russia’s decision on both countries
According to NBC News, this occurred “immediately” after the sanctions were released.
Satoshi Labs is situated in the Czech Republic, which was formerly occupied by the Soviet Union when it was still a part of Czechoslovakia. Furthermore, according to the newspaper, many firm workers have “connections to the war that make it personal,” according to Satoshi Labs spokesperson Kristna Mazánkov.
“Bitcoin is very apolitical,” she said. “I would like to imagine that bitcoin is a solution for different situations and that it will stay that way,” Mazánkov was quoted as saying.
“It’s dreadful to see these deeds of violence and ruthless military assault,” Trezor wrote on the same day Russia started its attack on Ukraine. “We Support Ukraine.”
Satoshi Labs made a donation of EUR 1 million (USD 1.09 million) in bitcoin (BTC) to two charities four days later, on February 28.
At the time of writing, there appears to be no equivalent statement from Trezor’s main competitor, Ledger.
According to its website, the Ledger wallet cannot be transported to seven countries/regions owing to local constraints, including Belarus and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014. This list does not include Russia.
Russia’s measures have been fast in response to its aggressive operations against Ukraine. PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa have all halted operations in the nation, and even Switzerland, which is known for its neutrality, has frozen the crypto assets of prominent Russians.