156
Visa and Mastercard, the world’s largest card operators, said they had blocked Russian banks from their networks under new U.S. sanction orders. The two also announced $2 million donations each in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Their move comes in the wake of some of the strictest U.S. sanctions against Russia yet, which saw several Russian banks blocked from the SWIFT transaction system. Washington also froze the Russian central bank’s overseas holdings, as well as those of several high-ranking Kremlin officials.
Visa said it was taking swift actions to comply with the new restrictions, while Mastercard said it would continue to work with regulators to fully abide by their requirements. Neither firm specified whether there would be a financial impact from the blacklist.
Exodus from Russia
New sanctions against Russia, over its invasion of Ukraine, has seen several companies cut ties with the country. Recently, British oil giant BP said it was exiting its 20% stake in state-owned Russian peer Rosneft, which could see the former take up to a $25 billion hit.
Shell also said it would exit its Russian operations, which it jointly operates with gas group Gazprom. Exchange operators Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange also temporarily halted the trading in the shares of Russia-based companies, Reuters reports.
More potential for crypto?
Visa and Mastercard’s blocking of Russian banks, along with strict sanctions against most local lenders could invite more adoption of crypto, especially by citizens who stand to lose access to conventional finance networks.
International banks, including HSBC, have also said they will curb operations in the country.
Russian crypto trading volumes were already seen surging after the first wave of U.S. sanctions, while the ruble slumped against bitcoin and most major altcoins.
Crypto adoption in Russia was on the rise even before the conflict. A government report had estimated that Russians represent about 12% of the world’s holdings. The country has also been identified as a potential destination for crypto mining, particularly after bans in majors China and Kazakhstan.
- Trending
- Price Analysis
- Breaking: Visa, Mastercard Block Russian Banks As Per New U.S. Sanctions
- ?Shiba Inu And Dogecoin Will Be Accepted At AMC Theaters Come March 19th, 2022
- Just-In: Crypto Market Cap Crosses $2 Trillion As Russia-Ukraine Conflict Boosts Adoption
- Ripple Vs SEC: Why SEC Wants ‘Estabrook Notes’ Out Of The Ripple Lawsuit?
- Is Bitcoin (BTC) Correction Over? Will Bitcoin Price Hit All Time High In 2022
- Russia-Ukraine News: Ukraine Applies For EU Membership Amid Slow Progress In Russia Talks
- Massive Buying: Bitcoin (BTC) Shoots 15%, Top Ten Crypto Register Double Digit Gains
- U.S. Includes Crypto In Russian Sanctions, Warns Exchanges
- ?Canada-based Purpose Bitcoin ETF Records New ATH In Holdings
- Just-In: Ukraine Pushes Crypto Exchanges To Freeze Russian Accounts; Is A Crypto War next?
- Cardano Exceeds Ethereum’s On-Chain Activity As ETH Struggles to Recover
- Solana Creeps Higher, Looks To Revisit January Highs AT $177.0
- Ethereum Price Analysis: Fibonacci Retracement level 0.618 Triggers Recovery Rally In ETH Coin
- BTC Price Analysis: Death Crossover Brings Nightmares On Satoshi Street; Is This A Buying Opportunity?
- Bitcoin Death Cross Haunting Investors, Will BTC Make or Break?
- DOGE Price Analysis: Highly Influential Bearish Trendline Undermines Bullish Attempts; Buy, Sell Or Hold?
- Terra Price Analysis: Will LUNA Price Bounce Back at 0.382 Fibonacci Retracement?
- SAND Price Analysis: Sandbox Price Losses 50% Retracement Level, Good Time to Buy?
- LINK Price Analysis: Chainlink price reclaims 200-day EMA, Emerging trendline Suggests More Upward Price Movement
- Harmony Price Analysis: Rising Parallel Pattern Could Lead 30% Growth In $ONE Price
