Coinbase Have No Plans To Stop Crypto Service For Russian Users
According to Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, the crypto exchange has no intentions to ban Russia-based customers, at least for now.
Amid calls from Ukraine to block Russian users from crypto services, one of the leading crypto exchanges, Coinbase, said that it has no plan to block Russia-based users from accessing their services. The company’s CEO, Brian Armstrong believes that oligarchs won’t be able to use digital assets, while many ordinary Russians could buy crypto while their national currency tumbles.
With Russia’s President launching a “special military operation” against Ukraine, which turned out to be simply a war, the
Amid the ongoing Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the West have decided not to get involved directly. Instead, they are sending military equipment and funding.
Russia has faced economic sanctions, such as blocking certain banks from accessing SWIFT. Some have raised concerns that it would push Russian to use crypto to bypass the sanctions. Ukraine appealed to cryptocurrency exchanges to ban Russian-based customers from accessing their platforms.
While some South Korean crypto exchanges have agreed to do so, many large ones, including Kraken and Binance, are not in favor of the request, saying that it would be against the core values of the crypto industry.
Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, views the matter through the same lenses. He doesn’t see a big risk of Russian oligarchs utilizing crypto to avoid sanctions. He explained his views on Twitter, saying that in blockchain every transaction is recorded and visible, meaning that “trying to sneak lots of money through crypto would be more traceable than using US dollars cash, art, gold, or other assets.”
However, Armstrong is in favor for blocking transactions from IP addresses that might “belong to sanctioned individuals or entities, just like any other regulated financial services business.”
5/ That being said, we don’t think there’s a high risk of Russian oligarchs using crypto to avoid sanctions. Because it is an open ledger, trying to sneak lots of money through crypto would be more traceable than using U.S. dollars cash, art, gold, or other assets.
Armstrong pointed out that ordinary Russian citizens can view the asset class “as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed.”
Russian ruble lost about a third of its value against other fiat currencies amid the news of SWIFT cutoff. Shortly after, bitcoin and crypto trading volumes in Russia and Ukraine jumped to new highs.
Armstrong noted that Coinbase might change its position on the matter going forward, saying, “if the US government decides to impose a ban, we will, of course, follow those laws.”
