Coinbase, Binance won't freeze Russian accounts
STORY: Russians are lining up to withdraw cash while they still can.
But some may be turning to an alternative.
The price of bitcoin has jumped since fighting began in Ukraine.
People there and in Russia are thought to have turned to cryptocurrencies as an anonymous way to store and move money.
Some fear that sanctioned people or firms could be doing likewise, potentially weakening the effect of a western crackdown.
And that’s led to calls for a freeze on Russian crypto assets.
On Friday (March 4) two of the world’s biggest e-coin exchanges rejected that idea.
Coinbase and Binance say they won’t put a blanket freeze on Russian accounts.
Coinbase chief Brian Armstrong said everyone deserved access to financial services.
But he said the firm would enforce a blanket ban if Washington imposed one.
Both exchanges said they would comply with all sanctions, and say they’re well equipped to detect abuse of their platforms.
By Friday lunchtime in Europe, bitcoin was down over 1%, but still well above pre-conflict levels.
