Why Coinbase Is Against Banning All Russians From Crypto Exchange

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. COIN has said it would not preemptively ban all Russian account holders from its platform amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and global sanctions against Russia.

What Happened: In a series of tweets early on Friday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said a blanket ban would hurt ordinary Russians since some of them are using cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD as a lifeline following the collapse of the Russian Ruble.

He also believes there is no high risk of Russian oligarchs using cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions since these transactions would be traceable.

Terming sanctions as “a complex issue,” Armstrong said Coinbase would follow the law if the U.S. government decides to impose a ban. He also said his company will work to enable cryptocurrency services for the people of Ukraine.

9/ Sanctions are a complex issue, and the situation is changing fast, so we’ll keep working with law enforcement and governments, and will take more steps as needed. We'll also of course keep working to enable crypto services for the people of Ukraine who are in need of help.

— Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Why It Matters: Armstrong’s comments came after Ukraine requested major cryptocurrency exchanges for a complete ban on their Russian users amid the war between the two nations.

Coinbase has said it would block accounts and transactions of Russian clients targeted by sanctions, echoing statements made earlier by Kraken and Binance. 

Activity from major cryptocurrency exchanges suggested people from Ukraine and Russia were seeking out cryptocurrency as a safe haven asset, it was reported on Thursday, citing data from Arcane Research.

Price Action: Coinbase shares closed almost 8.5% lower in Thursday’s regular trading session at $178.03 and further fell 1.7% in the after-hours session to $174.95.

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