Binance said on Monday that it would not “unilaterally” freeze the accounts of Russian users, after Ukraine’s deputy prime minister called on major cryptocurrency exchanges to take such measures.
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“We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of accounts of innocent Russian users,” a spokesperson for Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, told CNBC.
"Crypto is meant to provide greater financial freedom to people around the world. To unilaterally decide to ban people from accessing their crypto would go against the very reason crypto exists.".
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On Sunday, Mykhailo Fedorov, deputy prime minister of Ukraine, called on major exchanges to block the accounts of Russian users.
"It is important to freeze not only addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to undermine ordinary users," Fedorov said in a tweet.
Belarus is an ally of Russia. Russia continues to attack major cities across Ukraine, but the country's forces are doing their best to contain Russia.
The US and the European Union have responded with sanctions targeting Russian banks, public debt, Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and the leader himself. As a result, the Russian ruble has fallen.
Binance said it is “taking necessary measures against those who have been sanctioned, while minimizing the impact on innocent users.”.
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“If the international community further expands these sanctions, we will implement them,” a Binance spokesperson added.
Information source: cnbc.com
