It was thought that the crypto-verse existed in a realm apart from geopolitics. Yet, the Russian invasion of Ukraine shifted the focus. The Russian government has been abandoned by several crypto sites. Now that the European Union is becoming involved, additional deals have come to light, drastically reducing support for the nation. Kraken, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange, appeared as the most recent example.
According to reports, Kraken, the second biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, emailed its Russian clients. The company confirmed on October 19 that it would be ending operations. It said in the email that in light of the new European regulations, they must limit the Russian Kraken accounts. If there are any updates, they will post them to the help desk.
Both Crypto.com and Blockchain.com have recently chosen to restrict access to their sites for Russian citizens. Blockchain.com permitted Russians to withdraw custodial cash and rewards, but Crypto.com did not provide withdrawal details.
However, Kraken users in Russia were informed that they might withdraw money upon request. Unfortunately, the withdrawal cap was not elaborated upon.
Kraken, Crypto. com, Blockchain. com… What’s Next? Will Russia Finally Be Free of Crypto?
EU restrictions on goods that may be used by Russia to improve its military and technical capabilities have been expanded recently. Multiple cryptocurrency exchanges left the area because of this classification.
A representative for Kraken made the following statement:
Since the EU’s announcement, we have been working to make the changes needed to comply with the latest package of sanctions against Russia.
Bitfinex, another cryptocurrency exchange, retaliated by denying service to anybody in Russia who wasn’t on the approved sanction list.
All of these services have discontinued support for Russian users, making it more difficult for Russians to obtain cryptocurrency. As a result, there is widespread concern that the area could soon be cut off from using major cryptocurrencies.
[…] Kraken has said that it has sufficient funds available to guarantee that all of its customers who were impacted may withdraw their holdings in a timely way. […]