The response was swift.
“We are not preemptively banning all Russians from using Coinbase,” CEO Brian ArmstrongtweetedMarch 3.
“We believe everyone deserves access to basic financial services unless the law says otherwise.”
Crypto is meant to provide greater financial freedom for people across the globe.
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that are recorded on ablockchain, a distributed digital ledger that can’t be altered.
They usually aren’t backed by an underlying asset, such asfiat currency.
That’s why they could be an ideal safe haven amid a wave of economic sanctions.
“One would suspect ordinary citizens may have been looking for an alternative to the ruble.”
“I would guess that the vast majority of crypto holders on @krakenfx are anti-war,” Powelltweeted.
“#Bitcoin is the embodiment of libertarian values, which strongly favor individualism and human rights.”
Crypto executives don’t like “being told what to do,” Sonnenfeld said.
That’s why US economic sanctions have been focused on preventing Russia from accessing the reserves it keeps overseas.
“Big banks in an economy need real liquidity,” Conklin said.
“Conducting large-scale transactions in virtual currency is likely to be slow and expensive.”
Time will tell, but for now there is zero evidence this is happening."
We’re talking about $1.5 trillion in potential trade losses," he said.
In the case of crypto, they’ll be looking for “noncompliant exchanges for move those funds.”
Those digital platforms are already operating outside the law, though.
“They work best when voluntary efforts of the private sector rally.”
Economic sanctions imposed by the US government had an effect only when dozens of major private companies joined in.
“It brought civil society to a stop/standstill,” he said.
“They can be really helpful here.”
“Is that cruel?”
