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Coinbase Blocks 25,000 Russian Addresses, Papa Johns NFTs Also Banned

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Coinbase Blocks 25000 Addresses
08
Mar
  • Coinbase revealed that it had blocked 25,000 addresses that are connected to Russian individuals.
  • The company’s CEO Brian Armstrong argued, defending the late decisions.
  • Papa Johns NFTs are also blocked.

The American cryptocurrency company Coinbase revealed lately that it had blocked more than 25,000 addresses connected to Russian individuals or entities that were suspected to be engaged with illegal actions.

The announcement came in a Youtube video and a Twitter post by the famous cryptocurrency and blockchain news platform, CoinMarketCap, explaining the situation.

Whereas a lot of negative reactions were spotted as the platform faced a harsh response from people for refusing to block all Russian users. The suggestion was made by the Ukrainian deputy prime minister.

Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong defended the company’s action by saying that there isn’t a high risk of ultra-rich oligarchs using crypto to sidestep sanctions and that everyone has a right to access basic financial services unless the law says otherwise.

He also added:

Some ordinary Russians are using crypto as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed. Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too. That said, if the U.S. government decides to impose a ban, we will of course follow those laws.

At the same time, Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal commented that digital assets have properties that naturally deter common approaches to sanctions evasion.

Grewal also added that the Russian government and other sanctioned actors would need virtually unobtainable amounts of digital assets to meaningfully counteract current sanctions. The Russian central bank alone holds over $630 billion in largely immobilized reserve assets. That’s larger than the total market capitalization of all but one digital asset, and 5x to 10x the total daily traded volume of all digital assets.

In other news, Coinbase has announced blocking the Papa Johns NFTs in addition to the 25k addresses, as the UK also banned the famous company’s ads.

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