Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on March 4, 2022
2 min readLast updated: February 8, 2026
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By Niket Nishant
(Reuters) -Two of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase Global Inc and Binance, rejected calls on Friday for a blanket ban on all Russian users to stop their platforms from being used as a way round Western sanctions.
By staying put in Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine, the two exchanges are diverging from mainstream finance in a way some anti-money laundering experts and European regulators say weakens Western attempts to isolate Moscow.
“We believe everyone deserves access to basic financial services unless the law says otherwise,” Coinbase Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said in a series of tweets on Friday.
The exchange, however, would enforce such a blanket ban if the U.S. government decides to impose one, Armstrong added.
“We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts,” a spokesperson of Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Both cryptocurrency exchanges have said they will comply with government sanctions.
Major crypto exchanges have been urged to ban their services in Russia to prevent sanctioned entities from parking their assets using cryptocurrencies. The exchanges, however, insist they are well equipped to avoid abuse of their platforms.
The price of bitcoin has jumped following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as people in those countries look to store and move money in anonymous and decentralized crypto.
Bitcoin enjoys conflict currency credentials and remains unaffected by a hit to its much-touted potential as a safe-haven asset in recent months because of price moves that often mimic the broader market.
Some global corporate giants have taken more aggressive measure to cut off ties with Moscow. Exxon Mobil said it would exit oil and gas operations in Russia, while Boeing Co has suspended parts, maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines.
(Reporting by Rhea Binoy, Shubhendu Satish Deshmukh, Abinaya V and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Shinjini Ganguli)
Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security, making it difficult to counterfeit. It operates on decentralized technology called blockchain, which records all transactions across a network of computers.
Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that records transactions across many computers in a way that ensures the recorded transactions cannot be altered retroactively. This technology underpins cryptocurrencies.
Sanctions are penalties or restrictions imposed by countries or international bodies to influence or control the behavior of other nations or entities. They can include trade restrictions, asset freezes, and travel bans.
A crypto wallet is a digital tool that allows users to store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies. It can be software-based or hardware-based, providing varying levels of security and convenience.
Compliance in finance refers to the process of adhering to laws, regulations, and guidelines set by governing bodies. It ensures that financial institutions operate within legal frameworks to prevent fraud and protect consumers.
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