Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, says it will not freeze the accounts of Russian users despite pleas from Ukraine’s government to do so.
Over the weekend, Mykhailo Fedorov, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, asked major cryptocurrency exchanges to block the addresses of Russian users as the Russian military continues to attack major cities throughout Ukraine.
The U.S. and European Union have imposed sanctions targeting Russian banks, sovereign debt, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and the leader himself. The Russian ruble has plunged in recent days because of the sanctions.
Binance said it is “taking the steps necessary to ensure we take action against those that have had sanctions levied against them while minimizing impact to innocent users.”
However, Binance has stopped short of saying it will freeze all Russian accounts.
“Should the international community widen those sanctions further, we will apply those aggressively as well,” the company said in a written statement.
Other cryptocurrency exchanges have also declined to freeze Russian accounts, saying they cannot unilaterally block client accounts without a legal requirement to do so.
