Australia’s major cryptocurrency exchanges have not said whether they’ll freeze accounts linked to Russian users as Ukraine has pleaded with them to do so.
While some have turned to cryptocurrencies amid the Russia-Ukraine invasion, Ukraine’s Vice-Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for cryptocurrency exchanges — which are services used to buy and sell cryptocurrencies — to block Russian users, going beyond targeted sanctions to Russian individuals.
“It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users,” he tweeted on Monday.
Earlier today Vice reported the world’s major cryptocurrency exchanges were refusing to heed his call.
The CEO for US-based Kraken Exchange Jesse Powell told Vice that such as request went against Bitcoin’s libertarian values and the company’s mission to bring people into the “world of crypto, where arbitrary lines on maps no longer matter, where they don’t have to worry about being caught in broad, indiscriminate wealth confiscation”.
Likewise Australia’s major cryptocurrency exchanges have shown no interest in such a move.
Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve told Crikey it always abides by Australian laws and regulations but would not comment on the suggestion of freezing Russian accounts.
Similarly, Swyftx said it had internal systems that automatically cross-checked its accounts against official sanction lists, but it did not answer questions about freezing Russian accounts.
Coinstash did not respond to requests for comment via email or a chat function on their websites.
While experts have pooh-poohed the idea that cryptocurrency could be used to evade sanctions due to the opaque nature of transactions, cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia must be registered with Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) which monitors attempts to do so.
The Biden administration in the US is reportedly working with crypto exchanges to ensure they’re not being used to circumvent sanctions by Russia.
When asked if it was actively monitoring for any attempts to sidestep sanctions, AUSTRAC told Crikey it receives reports from cryptocurrency exchanges.
“AUSTRAC routinely receives suspicious matter reports (SMRs) relevant to sanctions matters from financial sector businesses, which includes the digital currency exchange sector,” it said in an emailed statement.
Updated with answers from AUSTRAC and Swyftx. A reference to Digital Surge was removed following further correspondence that explained that the platform only accepts Australian and New Zealand customers.
