Mykhailo Fedorov, the Vice Prime Minister, who is also Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, turned to major cryptocurrency exchanges, asking them to block all Russian and Belarusian users. He wrote on Twitter that it's essential to ban not only politicians but all users.
Related: As Ukraine’s CB Halts E-cash Transfers, People Turn To Crypto
I'm asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 27, 2022
It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.
While the number of sanctions against Russia and Russian politicians increases, crypto can serve to avoid some economic sanctions. Crypto platform for NFTs, gaming and metaverse items DMarket responded to Mykhailo Fedorov's tweet, banning Russian and Belarusian accounts.
Bloomberg reports that Binance spokesperson told them via email that the platform won't block millions of innocent users as it will contradict the mission of crypto.
The spokesperson mentioned that the company is taking steps to make certain that those who have had sanctions are imposed at the same time minimizing impact to other users.
It was mentioned in the email that in case the international community widens sanctions, Binance will act accordingly. Kraken co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell also responded to the Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister, writing that although he understands the rationale, Kraken can’t freeze Russian accounts without a legal requirement. Via a Twitter thread, he added that if there was a decision to freeze accounts of residents of countries that attack and provoke violence, the first step would be freezing US accounts.
Previously, CEOs of various crypto exchanges expressed their support for Ukraine. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that Binance donated $10 M to Ukraine.
Trending: Salvadorans are against buying bitcoins at the expense of the budget
FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried wrote that the exchange gave $25 to each Ukrainian user.