Bitfinex refused to block digital assets of Russians

The exchange has come out in support of Russian citizens who have not been sanctioned, but the final decision remains with the regulatory authorities

11.03.2022 - 15:55

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What’s new? Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency trading platform, will not freeze the accounts of non-sanctioned Russian users, a spokesperson for Cointelegraph said. He also stressed that the crypto exchange has taken appropriate measures with regard to the accounts of Russian customers on the sanctions list. According to Bitfinex, the government’s actions do not always reflect the wishes of individuals, so blocking ordinary citizens is unfair.

Cointelegraph’s material

What is known about Bitfinex? It is a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012 and owned by iFinex Inc. In 2016, the exchange suffered a hacking attack that resulted in 120 000 BTC being stolen from users’ accounts. In February 2022, the stolen digital assets began to move and in the same month, the couple who committed this crime were arrested.

What preceded it? Earlier, the crypto exchanges Kraken, Binance and Coinbase refused to block Russian users who were not subject to economic restrictions. The South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges and the developers of the MetaMask cryptocurrency wallet have joined the sanctions against Russia. The exchanges such as Kuna, WhiteBit, and CEX.io completely blocked the accounts of Russian customers.

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