Russia

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…

Following its invasion of Ukraine, sanctions on Russia are becoming more and more devastating. Recently, payment providers decided to block money from coming in and out of the country.  The pressure is mounting on crypto companies as well. Last weekend, payment processing giants Visa and MasterCard joined PayPal in suspending cross-border payments for their Russian clients. The decisions are set to comply with sanctions of NATO and other western countries, where these companies have their headquarters in. The largest credit-card…

Some of the largest crypto exchanges in South Korea have barred Russian users from accessing their services. These bans extend beyond sanctioned individuals and blacklists all Russian IP addresses as well.  IPs Blocked Amid Evasion Concerns According to a local report, most South Korean major exchanges have blacklisted their Russian customers from using their services. This comes after Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on all cryptocurrency exchanges to block Russian users from accessing their platforms. And of course,…

With the war in Ukraine raging on, and Russia targeted by crippling sanctions, fear is taking hold of the markets, including crypto. Crypto investors are struggling to assess the effects of war in Ukraine on cryptocurrencies. One of the risks is a hit to Bitcoin's hash rate. The hash rate, a measure of the computing power involved in validation, is a key measure of network security. In Bitcoin's network, it depends on mining. Now, Russia, the third-largest Bitcoin miner faces…

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently launched the KleptoCapture task force. The task force's aim is to enforce sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of neighboring country Ukraine. Of late, there have been talks that Russia might turn to crypto to circumvent its sanctions. The DOJ’s establishment of KleptoKapture is a move to nip this in the bud. Efforts to Mitigate Attack on Ukraine In a press statement released on Tuesday, 2nd March, Deputy Attorney General…

Billionaire investor Bill Miller has become more optimistic about Bitcoin since Russia invaded Ukraine. Currently, the Western sanctions are crushing the Eastern superpower’s economy and currency. This turn of events makes him believe they will likely look to regain control of their wealth with Bitcoin. Does Russia Need Bitcoin? On Thursday, Squawk Box’s Andrew Sorkin, a Bitcoin skeptic, asked Miller how Russia’s economic situation could impact the crypto market. Miller focused his response on Bitcoin, which he called “unique” from…

Bitcoin and gold are the leading indicators of how their respective markets handle a crisis. Currently, these two assets are feeling the full effect of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has severely impacted financial markets worldwide. However, their performances have been quite the opposite so far. As the stocks markets came crashing down, Bitcoin and gold battled to become the better inflation hedge. Since the armed conflict is far from over, we cannot establish a winner. However, we can use the…

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, spoke out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russian-Canadian crypto guru said he is "very upset" with Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, and his "special military operation." In a recent tweet, Buterin said: This is a crime against the Ukrainian and Russian people. I want to wish everyone safety and security, even though I know there won’t be. He further underlined his point of view, which is different from that of the blockchain network…

Ukraine has abandoned its plans to airdrop crypto tokens as a way of rewarding its crypto supporters. The country’s Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced this news via Twitter earlier today. In the same breath, Fedorov disclosed that Ukraine seeks to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to support its Armed Forces. Fedorov’s tweet read, After careful consideration we decided to cancel airdrop. Every day there are more and more people willing to help Ukraine to fight back the aggression. Instead, we…