Kraken’s Powell suggests blocking US addresses from exchanges

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, asked “all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users,” CoinDesk reported. He tweeted:

It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.

No ‘legal requirement’ to do so

Kraken founder Jesse Powell refused to freeze the accounts. He explained that his exchange’s mission is “better served by focusing on individual needs above those of any government or political faction”.

He did hint that he might change his mind in the future. While there’s no legal requirement to freeze Russian accounts at the time, he points out:

Russians should be aware that such a requirement could be imminent.

Powell also said:

The People’s Money is an exit strategy for humans, a weapon for peace, not for war. If we were going to voluntarily freeze financial accounts of residents of countries unjustly attacking and provoking violence around the world, step 1 would be to freeze all US accounts. As a practical matter, that’s not really a viable business option for us.

Binance will not suspend ‘innocent user’ accounts

A representative of BINANCE (BNB/USD), the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, told Reuters it wouldn’t unilaterally freeze user accounts in Russia. They said:

We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts. Crypto was meant to provide greater financial freedom for people across the globe.

Ukrainian DMarket accepts request

DMarket, a digital assets company founded in Ukraine, agreed. It works as an exchange to trade virtual items from any game on any platform. They tweeted:

Ukrainian-born startup DMarket cuts all relationships with Russia and Belarus due to the invasion of Ukraine. The registration on the platform is prohibited for users from Russia and Belarus; accounts of previously registered users from these areas are frozen.

Vlad Panchenko, the founder and CEO of DMarket, had his team fly from Kiev to Montenegro almost a month ago, back when the prospect of Russian invasion was only a threat.

More than 100 of DMarket employees and their families moved to the Balkan country. Fedorov suggested donating the funds in accounts frozen by DMarket to the war effort.

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