The main trading companies of cryptovaluteamong which Coinbase e Binancerefuse Ukraine’s request for freeze all accounts in Russia. The two activities stated that doing so would harm civilians and run counter to their ideals.
“Deciding unilaterally to ban people’s access to their cryptocurrencies would run counter to why cryptocurrencies exist,” said one. spokesman by Binance alla CNBC.
Coinbase and Binance refuse to freeze accounts in Russia
I’m asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users.
It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 27, 2022
In the tweet you can see above, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Federov asked major cryptocurrency exchanges for freeze all Russian and Belarusian accountsnot just those of sanctioned oligarchs. “It is essential to freeze not only addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage common users,” she said.
Such a move would be in line with US sanctions andEuropean Union against the banks and the Russian leadership, designed for paralyze the nation’s economy.
However, the freezing of all Russian accounts could have a direct impact on ordinary Russian citizens.
Coinbase said it is already sanctioning any person O entity in Russia as required by law but has no intention to go further. The cryptocurrency firm stated:
A one-sided and total ban would punish ordinary Russian citizens who are enduring a historic destabilization of the currency as a result of their government’s aggression against a democratic neighbor.
Binance likewise stated that would not have “Unilaterally frozen the accounts of millions of innocent users”. However the company is doing its part in other ways: it recently donated approx 10 million dollars in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. It also has also launched a fundraising with the aim of raising 20 million dollars.
Other exchanges, including KuCointhey said that will not go beyond what is required by law. He CEO of Kraken Exchange, Jesse Powellsaid such a move would violate the company’s “libertarian values”.
The only exception is Dmarketa platform based in Ukraine that allows people to exchange NFT e virtual in-game items. The company said in a tweet that it had cut off “all relations with Russia and Belarus due to the invasion of Ukraine”.