Ukraine’s financial supervision agency has restricted access to several online cryptocurrency exchangers operating from Russia. Some of the coin trading platforms are working with sanctioned Russian banks, the regulatory body announced in a report.
Ukrainian financial authorities target Russian crypto exchange websites and wallets
The State Financial Supervisory Service (SFMS), a financial intelligence unit of Ukraine, has issued a special report on the results of its operations in 2022. In addition to its peacetime activities, such as anti-money laundering, the agency revealed that it has contributed to the country’s defense effort as part of the ongoing conflict with Russia.
In the document released this week, the watchdog announced that its employees have joined forces with colleagues from the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Ukraine’s leading crypto experts. Together, they were able to identify Russian cryptocurrency exchanges associated with Russian financial institutions subject to sanctions, including Russia’s largest bank, Sber.
The Ukrainian financial regulator did not specify the exact number of these platforms or their domain names, but stressed that the goal was to block them completely.
In addition, in close cooperation with crypto service providers in Ukraine and abroad, the SFMS introduced a mechanism for the “blocking of crypto wallets of the Russian Federation”. It is not clear if these are Russian wallets in general or those linked to the Moscow government.
The state service recalled that last year it turned to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, suggesting actions “to curb the aggression of the Russian Federation in the virtual asset market” and prevent peer-to-peer transactions for users of several Russian banks. and payment systems
“Other practical measures related to the blocking of Russian crypto assets and the operations of Russian residents have been implemented,” the agency added without elaborating. It has been cooperating with financial authorities in nearly 140 countries on the issue while cutting ties with regulators in Russia and Belarus.
Ukraine participates in a regional initiative to prevent money laundering through cryptocurrencies
The SFMS also noted that it is involved in cooperation between Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, countries with a constantly growing crypto market and mining sector, focused on reducing money laundering through digital assets. The project is being carried out with the assistance of the UN and the OSCE.
The report coincided with a statement by Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov vowing that the country will become “the best crypto jurisdiction in the world” once its regulatory framework for the industry is finalized.
In recent years, Ukraine has established itself as a leader in cryptocurrency adoption in Eastern Europe and has been accepting cryptocurrency donations since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Its parliament approved a law “On Virtual Assets” last February and has been preparing the respective reforms to the Tax Code.
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