Binance and Kraken refused to block Russians

The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance refused to block accounts of Russians: “Cryptocurrency is meant to provide greater financial freedom for people around the world. A unilateral decision to deny people access to their cryptocurrencies contradicts the very reason cryptocurrencies exist,” a representative of the exchange told CNBC.

The CEO of another major crypto exchange, Kraken, Jesse Powell, made a similar statement on Twitter: “We cannot block accounts of Russian customers without appropriate legal requirements.”

Jesse Powell said such a requirement contradicts the “libertarian values” of bitcoin, and cryptocurrency should be “a weapon of peace, not war.” He added that the company’s mission is to bring people into “the world of crypto, where arbitrary lines on maps no longer matter, where they don’t have to worry about being subject to indiscriminate confiscation of their savings” (as has repeatedly happened in the fiat world).

A Coinbase representative told Motherboard that the company will not comply with a demand to block all Russian users. In his view, this would harm ordinary Russians. At the same time, the American company Coinbase complies with existing sanctions: “Our mission is to increase economic freedom in the world. A unilateral and complete ban will punish ordinary Russian citizens who are experiencing a historic destabilization of their currency,” he said.

KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu also told CNBC that the company considers itself a “neutral platform” that will not do anything beyond what is required by law.