After the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Russia were urged to block user addresses in the country. However, at the time, Coinbase, Binance and Kraken said they would not. Instead, they said they would track users and block people targeted by sanctions.
Now, Coinbase is reported to have blocked more than 25,000 addresses related to Russian individuals or entities that are believed to be involved in illicit activities.
Coinbase blocks Russian accounts
In a blog post, the exchange highlighted that these accounts were identified for their “proactive investigations.”
In addition, it stated that the addresses were shared with the United States government. According to and company, this is their way of supporting sanctions.
“Sanctions play a vital role in promoting national security and deterring unlawful aggression. And Coinbase fully supports these efforts by government authorities,” the company said.
According to the post signed by Paul Grewal, the company’s legal director, Coinbase does not allow customers from a sanctioned country or region to open accounts on the platform. At the same time, it constantly updates the global sanctions lists used in customer screening.
Also, if someone opens a Coinbase account and is subsequently sanctioned, that account will be terminated, according to the company.
“As sanctions evaders often try to mask their identities, Coinbase also works proactively to map transactions beyond the entities and individuals specifically flagged by governments. This allows us to identify potentially related parties and block accounts associated with prohibited actors,” she said.
Crypto assets prevent sanctions evasion
As the exchange highlighted, crypto assets have properties that naturally impede common approaches to sanctions evasion. This includes the laundering of physical money by shell companies.
Cryptocurrency transactions, on the other hand, are traceable, permanent and public thanks to blockchain. As a result, cryptocurrencies can improve the ability to detect and prevent evasion compared to the traditional financial system.
“Blockchain transparency is a formidable tool for law enforcement. And platforms like Coinbase work hard to partner with law enforcement to root out bad actors.”
