Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said Thursday (March 3) that it won’t allow cardholders from several sanctioned Russian banks to use them on the platform, adding they have restricted access for sanctioned individuals who have some involvement with the attacks on Ukraine.
Binance is among a small group of cryptocurrency exchanges taking such a stance against Russian banks and individuals involved in the Ukrainian invasion, according to a Reuters report Thursday. Several of the larger crypto exchanges across the world are remaining in Russia and continuing with unfettered access.
That’s a decision that some financial experts say not only defies the actions of mainstream financial institutions but also blunts the efforts of Western nations to cripple Russia’s economy following the ongoing attacks that started last week and are tied to Ukraine’s place in NATO, the report says.
Related: Senators Ask Treasury to Probe if Russia Can Use Crypto to Get Around Sanctions
On Wednesday (March 2) four Democratic U.S. senators — Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Mark Warner of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jack Reed of Rhode Island — wrote a letter demanding Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen’s explanation of how her department plans to get cryptocurrency companies to enforce economic sanctions on Russia, The New York Times reported.
The letter to Yellen, the senators also asked whether decentralized financial structures were hindering sanctions enforcement.
The senators said in the letter they’re worried Russia will turn to crypto and other digital assets, including its own digital ruble, to lessen the financial burden triggered by global economic sanctions: the freezing of the Russian central bank’s foreign assets, cutting off Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system, and private companies cutting off trade and investment in Russia.
Also read: EU Eyes Tougher Measures to Block Crypto Use to Circumvent Sanctions
The EU is also working to make sure digital assets aren’t used to dodge sanctions against Russia, a Financial Times report said Wednesday (March 2).
Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, said after a video conference that there were things being considered to “further increase the effectiveness” of sanctions, to make sure there were no ways to get around them, including with cryptocurrency.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said there should be legislation banning firms engaged in issuing crypto assets or providing services from helping Russian clients during the invasion of Ukraine.
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