Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, has requested that cryptocurrency exchanges suspend the accounts of Russian and Belarusian users.
“I’m asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users,” Fedorov said. “It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians but also to sabotage ordinary users.”
Following many days of violent combat in Ukraine after Russian forces invaded the nation late last week, Fedorov made the appeal on Twitter on February 27.
Mykhailo Fedorov has requested that cryptocurrency exchanges suspend Russian accounts
One of Ukraine’s leaders hopes that as crypto’s involvement in global political struggle expands, it does not aid their adversary. Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has called on cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze all Russian users’ blockchain addresses in order to aid Ukraine’s defense against Russian invasion.
Fedorov stressed the necessity of “sabotaging regular users” as well as “cutting off crypto access to Russian and Belarusian officials” in a tweet on Sunday. The proposal comes after a raft of sanctions imposed by Western allies on Russia, including the freezing of assets held by Russia’s four largest banks and a reduction in reliance on Russian oil exports.
In the crisis, cryptocurrency is taking center stage, serving as a means of financial support for Ukraine and, potentially, Russia. In October, Putin explored the use of cryptocurrency as a mode of payment in international trade to “move funds from one area to another.”
Bitcoin was utilized earlier this month to get around Canada’s financial limitations on donations to the freedom convoy protest. While self-custodial Bitcoin transfers reached the drivers successfully, any monies linked to exchanges were detected and frozen by a court order.
Some see the Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister’s request as incompatible with crypto’s promise of universal access and impartiality, while others support it because of the potential benefits to Ukrainian citizens. Some in the crypto business have declared a position in the debate. To support Ukraine, one of Ethereum’s largest mining pools ceased serving Russian consumers on Friday.
The Vice Prime Minister also backed a recent decision by DMarket, an NFT and Metaverse platform, to freeze Russian and Belarusian users’ accounts. He’s also urged other prominent personalities, such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, to abandon their plans to colonize Mars in favor of supporting Ukraine through the Metaverse.
He requested that Russian users be banned from Facebook and Instagram as well.
If you find this article informative then do not forget to share it with your friends and family!
Also read: Gavin Wood promised to personally contribute $5 million, if Ukraine gets DOT address
