Ukraine calls for indiscriminate freezing of Russian crypto accounts, major exchanges: Violates the original intention of cryptocurrencies

As Western countries continue to impose more economic sanctions on Russian banks, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on global cryptocurrency exchanges on Twitter on the 27th to freeze the addresses of Russian users and impose sanctions on those holding cryptocurrencies in Russia.

Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted, "I am requesting all major cryptocurrency exchanges to block addresses of Russian users, not only freezing addresses related to Russian and Belarusian politicians but also freezing addresses of regular users, which is crucial."

Mykhailo Fedorov believes that the funds from these frozen accounts could be donated to the war effort. However, his call may have a catastrophic impact on the Russian cryptocurrency market. As of early February, Russian holders already have over $200 billion in cryptocurrency. With the ruble depreciating heavily, Russians are increasingly liquidating their bank assets and considering crypto investments.

Major Russian cryptocurrency exchange BestChange stated that the number of visitors has increased by 20% just in the days following the start of the war.

Mykhailo Fedorov's appeal has sparked responses from the cryptocurrency community. According to a report by Cointelegraph, Binance stated, "We will not unilaterally freeze the accounts of millions of innocent users. Cryptocurrency is designed to provide greater financial freedom for people around the world." Binance emphasized that if international sanctions are further expanded, they will actively implement these sanctions but will try to minimize the impact on innocent users.

Meanwhile, Finnish cryptocurrency exchange LocalBitcoins believes that sanctions are inevitable, but banning crypto companies from serving ordinary Russians is meaningless and will harm ordinary people more than benefit them.

Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, stated that without legal requirements, the Kraken exchange cannot freeze accounts of Russian customers.

This article is authorized to be reprinted from Horizon Next News Network.