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- The hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor has become the recent entity to withdraw services from Russia.
- It won’t be delivering cold wallets to Russia, said Satoshi Labs, Trezor’s parent company.
- The sanction authorities have been asking the crypto entities to support the global efforts to pressurize Russia but are getting mixed responses.
Trezor, a Hardware wallet manufacturer, has become the recent company to withdraw services from Russia. The manufacturer and its parent company, Satoshi Labs, have highlighted that it won’t be delivering cold wallets to the country.
There have been several discussions about whether the Russian citizens could utilize the crypto assets to avoid the effects of the sanctions. The EU has talked about including the asset class under the sanctions.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the actions against Russia are being witnessed widely. MasterCard, PayPal, Visa have suspended their services in the country. Several South Korean exchanges have frozen IP addresses from Russia; recently, Switzerland has frozen crypto assets of some prominent Russians.
But crypto assets have been an escape for innocent Russians. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, highlighted that crypto-assets could be a lifeline for innocent citizens.
But the asset class is riding in two boats, trying not to fail foul of the authorities and then trying to hold true to the meaning of decentralization.
Cryptocurrencies and the Russia-Ukraine war:
Although there have been entities standing firm not to provide Russia with their services, and then there are entities like Kraken and Coinbase who announced they wouldn’t stop their services in the country. And the decision of Trezor to do so is in contrast with the former ones.
Authr\orities looking on to the sanctions have asked the entities related to the asset class to put pressure on Russia and support the global effort. And the response to these efforts is mixed. For instance, Binance has frozen the accounts from the sanctions list but has not cut down the services totally.
Whereas, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister also often takes to his Twitter accounts to ask for help. Recently he asked major crypto exchanges to block Russian addresses.
The asset class is playing a significant role in donations to Ukraine, which has surpassed approximately $50 million in funds. Satoshi Labs has contributed 1 million Euros in BTC form to the invaded country.
ALSO READ: Ukraine accepts crypto donations in more than 70 assets
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
