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by Lubomir Tassev
Leading U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase has reportedly notified certain Russian customers that their accounts may be blocked at the end of this month. According to Russian media, the trading platform has offered them to withdraw their funds unless they prove they are not under sanctions.
Some Coinbase users from Russia have received letters informing them that their accounts will be blocked on May 31, the crypto page of the Russian business news portal RBC reported. The company suggested that these customers withdraw their funds unless they provide documents indicating they are not subject to EU sanctions, the publication explained quoting the correspondence, which stated:
Until May 31, 2022, you must withdraw all funds from your account or provide us with special documents that confirm that you do not fall under these sanctions.
After that date, the funds may be frozen and all assets transferred to the accounts in the future will also be blocked, the crypto exchange’s support team warned the Russians, according to the post published by RBC Crypto.
The news of the notice comes after earlier in May, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal tweeted that the exchange could no longer provide services to certain Russian clients registered to the platform’s EU entities or located within the European Union.
Grewal assured that the company is working with affected customers to give them an opportunity to demonstrate if these sanctions don’t apply to them or help them withdraw their funds from Coinbase, if they do. He also emphasized the exchange will continue to provide services to non-sanctioned Russian users who are not located in the EU and are not registered with its EU entities.
Expanding western sanctions, targeting the Russian government and citizens’ access to global finances, have also affected the crypto space. Coinbase’s move follows Binance’s decision in April to limit services for Russian nationals and companies that have crypto assets exceeding €10,000 (close to $11,000) in value.
The largest crypto exchange by trading volume cited the EU’s latest sanctions as well. In a new round of penalties approved by the member states in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the European Union prohibited the provision of “high-value” crypto-asset services to Russian entities and residents.
Do you expect other crypto exchanges to comply with the latest EU sanctions on Russia? Tell us in the comments section below.
Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
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