As the attack on Ukraine continues, cryptocurrency exchanges are avoiding calls for Russian users to close their active accounts.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorovhas asked all major crypto exchanges to block the addresses of Russian users after the invasion of Russia. Fedorov made the following statements in his call:
“It is very important not only to freeze addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.”
Kraken CEO Jesse Powellresponded to the call on Twitter and said that despite its deep respect for the Ukrainian people, its exchange will not freeze the accounts of its Russian customers without a legal obligation.
“This requirement may come from your own government in response to protests, bank runs and attempts to flee the country, as we have seen in Canada. It can come from foreign states like the USA as a weapon to turn the Russian peoples against their government’s policies.
I guess the vast majority of crypto holders on Kraken are anti-war. Bitcoin is the embodiment of libertarian values that strongly promote individualism and human rights. In Canada, crypto was the only financial avenue left for those who opposed the regime.”
Besides these, a Binance A spokesperson also told Reuters that the company would not comply with Fedorov’s request.
“We have no plans to unilaterally ban Russian users from the platform. We are trying to act cautiously against all kinds of sanctions that will negatively affect innocent users. If the international societies expand their sanctions, we will apply them as necessary.”
A Coinbase spokesperson also made a similar statement to Decrypt:
“A unilateral and complete ban would punish ordinary Russian citizens who suffer historic currency destabilization as a result of their government’s aggression against a democratic neighbor.”