US Congress introduced bill to block Russians on crypto exchanges

In case of non-compliance with the new law, “secondary sanctions” will be applied to trading platforms

18.03.2022 - 07:30

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What’s new? Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced a bill in the US Congress against Russia’s use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions. Under the proposed document, the Russians will not be able to trade on the US exchanges. According to Warren, the companies will have to choose with whom to do business. In case of non-compliance, the senator proposed to apply “secondary sanctions” to crypto exchanges, The Block reports.

The Block’s material

What else is known about the bill? The document requires the White House to compile a report on all crypto service providers that have a connection to Russia. Warren stated:

“Strong enforcement of sanctions compliance in the cryptocurrency industry is critical given that digital assets may increasingly be used as a tool for sanctions evasion.”

The senator believes that the only way to control Russian cryptocurrency is to impose restrictions on crypto exchanges. Hillary Clinton has previously called on the government to “exert influence” on exchanges cooperating with Russia. The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency (FinCEN) is also concerned about the possibility of circumventing sanctions using cryptocurrencies.

Who has already blocked the Russians? The developers of the Metamask cryptocurrency wallet have warned users from sanctioned countries that they may lose access to the application. The exchanges such as Kuna, WhiteBIT, and CEX.io have completely blocked the accounts of Russians. The Coinbase representatives reported blocking more than 25 000 accounts of users from Russia, which, according to the exchange, are linked to illegal activities.

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