Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,17 trillion. Bitcoin continues to trade at around $62,300. Ethereum experiences no changes and stagnates at around $2,400. XRP is down by 2%, Solana by 1%, and Dogecoin by 3%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the red, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector decreased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around…
Coinbase Cracks Down on Over 25,000 Russian Wallets
- Coinbase revealed on Monday that it had blocked more than 25,000 Russian wallets linked with illicit activities.
- Coinbase’s action comes after an initial refusal to place a blanket ban on Russian wallets.
Coinbase Acts on Sanctions
The major exchange published a detailed official statement of its most recent crackdown on more than 25,000 Coinbase wallets. Coinbase claims that these wallets mostly belonged to Russians linked with several illicit activities. The company came to this conclusion via its own private “proactive investigations”.
Coinbase explained that part of its motivation in the recent sweep of accounts is its company’s policy to maintain integrity. As a result, it was ready to take action against individuals who already received sanctions from the government and who could seek crypto to escape those sanctions.
Sanctions play a vital role in promoting national security and deterring unlawful aggression,” reads the official blog’s statement, “and Coinbase fully supports these efforts by government authorities. Sanctions are serious interventions, and governments are best placed to decide when, where, and how to apply them.”
The business also explained it had developed clear programs to play its part in the punitive action against sanctioned criminal actors. Asides from cracking down on known actors, Coinbase claimed it was developing technology to identify possible sanction evaders. Additionally, the company is on high alert, in anticipation of similar anomalies noticed in recently blocked accounts.
Coinbase Turns Back on Initial Decision?
Last week, the company refused a blanket ban on Russian wallets, following significant pressure to do so. Major exchanges Binance and Kraken echoed its decision. Coinbase cited last week that it believes “everyone deserves access to basic financial services unless the law says otherwise.”
8/ Some ordinary Russians are using crypto as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed. Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too. That said, if the US government decides to impose a ban, we will of course follow those laws.
— Brian Armstrong – barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022
In a series of tweets from CEO Brian Armstrong, the co-founder noted that the company would not seek to ban Russian IPs or accounts. Armstrong cited Russia’s inability to fully employ crypto to evade sanctions as a key part of its decision. Since crypto transactions are open ledgers, and traceable, making multimillion transactions in crypto would not be wise on Russia’s part.
Also, a last resort to privacy coins like Monero would be underwhelming as well, considering XMR’s entire market cap is hardly up to $3 billion. However, the CEO noted that, ultimately, the company would have to follow the law like other US outfits.
2/ Every US company has to follow the law – it doesn't matter if your company handles dollars, crypto, gold, real estate or even non financial assets. Sanctions laws apply to all US people and businesses.
— Brian Armstrong – barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022
Pressure Mounts on Crypto Exchanges as VISA, Mastercard Block Russia
Binance Launches Own Fiat-To-Crypto Payment Fintech
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