The founder of FTX has clearly denied that bitcoin exchanges are breaking Russia’s sanctions

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of major crypto exchange FTX, spoke with Reuters on the cryptocurrency industry’s sentiments about sanctioned Russian firms. This was mentioned by the 30-year-old CEO at the Futures Industry Association’s annual conference in Boca Raton, Florida.

“I’m quite dissatisfied with our industry’s message on this,” he remarked. He noted that it might be detrimental to the development of the whole sector as a result of how it would be seen. “I believe it has been fundamentally anti-regulatory,” he said.

Since the crisis began, fears have grown that Russia may use cryptocurrency to escape sanctions. To avert this, senior government officials such as Ukraine’s Prime Minister have urged exchanges to impose a total embargo on Russia. Simultaneously, Hilary Clinton voiced displeasure by exchanges’ unwillingness to impose a comprehensive ban.

Bankman-Fried has maintained, however, that his exchange contributed by discontinuing assistance for all sanctioned parties and terminating all contacts with Russian banks. The blanket prohibition on Russian banks eliminated opportunities for companies to utilise FTX as a conduit to circumvent the sanctions. The exchange said that Russian users may continue to trade. They are, nevertheless, subject to stringent anti-money laundering controls, and the US Treasury is informed of their actions in Russia.

Other Exchanges’ Attitudes

Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken have all argued that imposing an outright ban on Russian customers would violate the libertarian ideals underlying blockchain technology. A spokeswoman for Binance said that the exchange would not “unilaterally freeze the accounts of millions of innocent consumers,” while the CEO of Coinbase stated that “everyone deserves access to fundamental financial services until the law states differently.”

Binance has also declared that it would not accept bank cards issued by sanctioned Russian institutions, while Coinbase has banned 25,000 Russian cryptocurrency wallets suspected of being involved in illegal activity.

Russian banks have been suspended from SWIFT, and prominent payment systems such as Mastercard and Visa have ceased operations in the nation. According to analysts, these sanctions might result in a 5% contraction of the Russian economy, while trading volumes between the Russian Ruble and Bitcoin reach new lows.

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