Blockchain Association выступила против криптосанкций в отношении россиян

Policy chief Jake Chervinsky has said that the US authorities’ bills are not aimed against Russian oligarchs, but US cryptocurrency companies

Blockchain Association opposed crypto sanctions against Russians

30.04.2022 - 08:15

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2 min

What’s new? The Blockchain Association, a lobbying group representing more than 70 cryptocurrency platforms, is trying to convince the US Congress that cryptocurrencies are not being used by the Russians to circumvent sanctions. The company has opposed bills that seek to tighten restrictions, CNBC reports.

Information on the CNBC website

How did events develop? The Blockchain Association has stepped up its lobbying efforts amid a discussion by President Joe Biden’s administration on whether and how to regulate digital assets. In March, Biden signed an executive order urging regulators to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies.

Two bills have been introduced in the US House of Representatives and Senate that would give the Biden administration the authority to ban US cryptocurrency exchanges from processing payments from Russia. The bills would also allow US authorities to impose restrictions on foreign exchanges that process transactions of sanctioned Russian individuals or companies.

Blockchain Association policy chief Jake Chervinsky said that the bills are not aimed against Russian oligarchs, but US cryptocurrency companies.

What happened before? On February 28, the White House stated that crypto exchanges have to block the accounts of users from Russia who are on the sanctions lists. The US officials believe that Russians caught up in the sanctions can use digital assets to circumvent the restrictions.

In mid-March, Christopher Wray, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), stated that Russia’s ability to bypass sanctions using cryptocurrencies was too overestimated. He noted that the ability of the United States to track digital assets would allow countering such efforts.

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