Ukraine Vice PM Urges Crypto Exchanges to Freeze Russian Accounts

Mykhailo Fedorov, vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation of Ukraine has asked crypto exchanges to freeze the accounts of both Russian and Belarusian users. Ukraine Wants Crypto Crackdown on Russians On Feb. 27, Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted asking crypto exchanges to ban Russian and Belarusian accounts including not only of politicians but also of ordinary users. I'm asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users. — Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 27, 2022 The proposal comes after a series of sanctions imposed by Western allies on Russia, including the exclusion of the SWIFT payment system, the international payments messaging system, in addition to freezing the overseas assets of Russia’s central bank. However, Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, one of the world’s largest exchanges, has said that it cannot freeze the account ‘without a legal requirement to do so.’ However, he did hint that this could change in the future by saying that ‘Russians should be aware that such a requirement could be imminent.’ 1/6 I understand the rationale for this request but, despite my deep respect for the Ukrainian people, @krakenfx cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian clients without a legal requirement to do so. Russians should be aware that such a requirement c...