(Rejected) Cryptocurrency exchanges resist calls from Western powers to completely ban Russian trading

Several cryptocurrency exchanges are under pressure from Western powers to block transactions with the Russian rupee over concerns that cryptocurrencies could be a backdoor for Russia to transfer assets.

On Monday, trading volumes between the Russian ruble and the Tether cryptocurrency surged as Western powers slapped sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine-Russia war, Reuters reported on Feb. 28.

Due to the surge in transaction volume, it is a hint that Russian accounts are moving funds into cryptocurrencies and overseas to avoid the devaluation of the rupee.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov on Sunday called for "all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users", saying it is "crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian" politicians but also to sabotage ordinary users”.

Western countries, fearful that the Russian government is using cryptocurrencies as a financial tool to evade sanctions, have imposed sanctions on hundreds of individuals, including oligarchs and politicians close to President Vladimir Putin.

Most exchanges comply with the above-mentioned sanctions, but say they will not ban the trading of Russian accounts on a large scale

But binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said “To unilaterally decide to ban people’s access to their crypto would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists,”

Okx also said it has no plans to ban Russian accounts on a mass scale.

U.S.-based Coinbaseh said it would not “completely ban all Coinbase transactions involving Russian [crypto wallet] addresses.” Bahamas-based FTX also said it would not impose a ban on Russia, but pledged to comply with sanctions on individuals

Jesse Powell, the founder of the exchange Kraken, also said that Kraken's mission is to connect individuals with traditional finance and enter the crypto world. The wealth of others cannot be confiscated indiscriminately.

Jesse Powell says:

“Kraken cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian clients without a legal requirement to do so”

According to cryptocurrency data provider Chainalysis:

“Capital flight and tax avoidance may also be part of the cryptocurrency adoption story in eastern Europe, particularly in Russia and Ukraine,”