Coinbase and Binance: "Request to Fully Ban Cryptocurrency Transactions by Russian Nationals Is Unacceptable"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Major cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide have declared that they will not comply with the Ukrainian government's request to completely ban transactions by Russian users. There are growing concerns that Russia might use cryptocurrencies to circumvent international sanctions despite the West's strengthened financial sanctions.

According to CNBC on the 1st (local time), Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, announced in a statement, "We cannot accept the request made by the Ukrainian government the previous day to ban all transactions for Russian accounts." However, it stated that it would block accounts and transactions of Russian customers who are subject to international sanctions.

Earlier, Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, also stated, "We will only block accounts of individuals subject to Russian sanctions," adding, "We will not freeze accounts of all Russian users." These exchanges are reportedly of the view that blocking all Russian nationals from using their services contradicts the fundamental principle of cryptocurrencies, which pursue freedom of use.

Accordingly, there is analysis suggesting that Russia may be able to evade Western financial sanctions through cryptocurrencies. CNN pointed out, "Financial sanctions by the United States and the European Union (EU) are mostly focused on banks, preventing sanctioned Russian companies or individuals from using banking networks to transact in dollars or euros, but they cannot block cryptocurrency transactions."

Money laundering monitoring expert Ross Delston stated, "If Russia decides to use only cryptocurrencies, it could effectively evade all sanctions," and asserted, "I am confident that Russia is already doing so."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.