Kraken CEO responds to Ukraine request to block Russian users

The CEO of Kraken, Jesse Powell, has responded to the requests by Ukraine to block Russian users from the platform. The vice prime minister of Ukraine, Mikhail Fedorov, had asked all major exchanges to freeze the accounts of Russian and Belarusian users.

Kraken cannot freeze accounts without a legal requirement

The vice prime minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, took to Twitter on February 27 to urge all major exchanges to block the accounts of Russian and Belarusian users. According to Fedorov, it was “crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians but also to sabotage ordinary users.”

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The CEO of Kraken, Jesse Powell, has shared response to this, saying that the exchange will not freeze user accounts unless there is a “legal requirement to do so.”

Powell said,

I understand the rationale for this request, but, despite my deep respect for the Ukrainian people, [Kraken] cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian clients without a legal requirement to do so. Russians should be aware that such a requirement could be imminent.

He also said that the largest portion of the cryptocurrency holders on Kraken did not support the way and that “Bitcoin is the embodiment of libertarian values.” He even referenced the recent events in Canada, where cryptocurrency was used by the Freedom Convoy protests to avoid the harsh financial sanctions imposed by the government.

Binance follows suit

Binance has also stated that it will not freeze Russian and Belarusian accounts. A spokesperson from the exchange has said that Binance will not unilaterally freeze all accounts of Russian users. However, the exchange has stated that it would block the accounts of those users that have been sanctioned.

None of the other major exchanges has come out to state whether they will comply with Fedorov’s request or not. DMarket, a non-fungible token (NFT) platform, has said that it will freeze the accounts of users from Russia and Belarus, and Fedorov has applauded this response.

Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has also called upon the end of the conflict, saying that it would affect the Ukrainian people. Donations have also been made to Ukraine through Bitcoin.