Swiss citizens within its borders cryptocurrency plans to freeze its assets under European Union sanctions.
Switzerland Takes Action Against Russian Cryptocurrency Assets
Switzerland, generally known as a neutral country, decided to join the sanctions imposed on Russia by the USA and the European union in the war started by Russia.
In addition, the country authorities took action against Russian crypto assets located within the borders of Switzerland.
Some officials have stated in their previous statements that crypto assets can be used to circumvent sanctions against Russia.
After that, many people demanded that crypto exchanges stop serving their Russia-based customers and even freeze their holdings.
This demand divided the cryptocurrency community into two. Major exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase and Kraken stated that such a ban would not be in line with the philosophy of crypto, while some South Korean exchanges began to block Russian IP addresses.
“We Can’t Do Anything If They Keep The Crypto Keys Themselves”
According to the information provided by the Financial Times, Switzerland is preparing to take a similar stance. Switzerland, which is normally a neutral country, will also target Russian crypto assets stored on its territory, in addition to participating in all sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia.
A senior official at the country’s Ministry of Finance said that additional steps should be taken against cryptoassets because Switzerland wants to “protect the integrity” of the crypto industry:
“The persons in question bitcoin and holding their crypto keys, it would be impossible to identify them wherever they are. However, if they use crypto services such as funds and exchanges, we can target those services.”
*Not investment advice.