Russian citizens’ accounts on Blockchain.com will soon be closed, and businesses like Binance are striving to implement the new EU sanctions.
Blockchain.com, a provider of cryptocurrency wallets, is the most recent business that will shortly stop offering its services to Russian citizens as a result of the most recent EU sanctions.
According to the local news outlet RBC, Blockchain.com has informed its customers that it will terminate Russian citizens’ accounts in two weeks.
The report states that Russian customers will be able to withdraw their money from Blockchain.com until October 27, 2022. The accounts of Russian citizens will apparently be disabled after that date.
The statement noted that, in accordance with the EU’s eighth package of sanctions on Russia, Blockchain.com is not now permitted to provide custody and incentive services to Russian citizens.
Contrary to earlier restrictions, which merely set a $10,000 ($9,700) cap on cross-border crypto transfers between Russia and the EU, the most recent package outlaws all such transactions. On October 6, more penalties were put into place.
The services offered by Blockchain.com go beyond custodial services. Additionally, Blockchain.com offers a non-custodial wallet, which is intended to provide customers complete ownership over their assets while preventing the company from having access to the wallet’s data. Blockchain.com also offers custodial trading accounts, which let users purchase and sell cryptocurrency on the platform, in addition to the non-custodial wallet.
It is yet unknown if Russian users of Blockchain.com would be able to continue using their non-custodial wallets.
In light of the most recent sanctions, Blockchain.com is not the only website that has suspended some services to Russians. Due to the most recent sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia and its citizens, major blockchain developer Dapper Labs has likewise blocked Russian accounts.
Numerous other significant peer-to-peer platforms and exchanges, including Crypto.com, Coinbase, and LocalBitcoins, are reportedly going to adhere to the penalties as well.
One of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, Binance, is no different. According to a spokesperson for Binance, “Changes like these take time to implement as we have to carefully coordinate with multiple tech and risk management partners.” The company is working around the clock to implement the additional limits for Russians as well.
Some exchanges, including Bitfinex, a sister company of Tether, have previously opposed crypto restrictions against common Russian citizens. “Our view is that the actions of a government do not necessarily represent the wishes of individuals,” Paolo Ardoino, the chief technological officer of Bitfinex, stated in March 2022. He continued by saying that Bitfinex was ready to keep all of its customers’ accounts safe “unless otherwise advised by the regulatory bodies” under which they are governed.
