In February 2022, Russia decided to illegally annex Ukraine. The European Union (EU) then implemented economic sanctions against her. But, the Russians managed to circumvent the sanctions, in particular by using cryptos. To further put Russia under pressure, the European Union (EU) recently adopted tougher restrictions. Several companies in the crypto sector quickly implemented these new measures, suspending all operations with Russian accounts. But, some exchanges are slow to take the plunge.
Binance, Kraken and FTX have yet to take the plunge
Last week, the EU present, through a press release, a wide range of new sanctions against Russia. According to these, Russians should no longer have access to any crypto wallet, custody or account services. It turns out that some crypto companies have not enforced these new rules against Russians. They therefore continue to offer their services to Russian residents and entities. In the list of these companies, we find some of the main crypto exchanges like Binance, Kraken and FTX.
Binance did not no official statement about the new restrictions against Russians. The largest crypto exchange is operating normally, as if nothing had happened. On the other hand, it had applied the measures of the fifth round of restrictions of the European Union (EU). It should be noted that these did not affect high-value crypto services.
The American exchange Kraken had not applied the previous restrictions. This time again, for the new sanctions, he did not announce any upcoming changes. Likewise, FTX has yet to enforce the new crypto restrictions. Recall that the exchange sits in the heart of the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
What if Restrictions Drive Crypto Adoption in Russia?
In the face of economic sanctions, many Russians have used cryptos to export their wealth. Crypto services have thus enabled them to circumvent financial sanctions. Very soon, the authorities of the city of Moscow considered legalizing cross-border payments in cryptos. They then worked for the adoption of regulations in favor of this project.
Recently, the head of the parliamentary committee on financial markets made a comment concerning EU restrictions on cryptos. Indeed, Anatoly Aksakov said that the latter could stimulate the development of the Russian crypto market.
In the United States, Binance and Kraken have no not yet suspended their activities with the Russian accounts. Elsewhere in the Seychelles, crypto firms Huobi Global, OKX, Kucoin and Mexc Global announced that they would not enforce the restrictions. The Bybit exchange also plans to continue working with Russian traders. The Garantex platform, which is popular in Russia, will do the same.
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