Coinbase, Binance Resist Calls To Kick Russians Off Crypto Platforms

Two of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase and Binance, rejected calls on Friday for a blanket ban on all Russian users to stop their platforms from being used as a way round Western sanctions. From a report: "We believe everyone deserves access to basic financial services unless the law says otherwise," Coinbase Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said in a series of tweets on Friday. The exchange, however, would enforce such a blanket ban if the U.S. government decides to impose one, Armstrong added. "We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users' accounts," a spokesperson of Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, said in an emailed statement to Reuters. Both cryptocurrency exchanges have said they will comply with government sanctions. Major crypto exchanges have been urged to ban their services in Russia to prevent sanctioned entities from parking their assets using cryptocurrencies. The exchanges, however, insist they are well equipped to avoid abuse of their platforms.

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