According to an official blog post, as of March 7, 2022, Coinbase blocks “more than 25,000 addresses associated with Russian individuals or entities that we believe are engaged in illegal activity, many of which were identified through our own protective investigations.”
At the same time, the company shared these addresses with the US government to "assist with the enforcement of sanctions".
The post once again reiterates that the exchange is “committed to complying with the sanctions.”
“During enforcement, Coinbase will check account applications against a list of sanctioned individuals or entities, including those approved by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Union countries, Singapore, Canada and Japan maintained”.
The move comes just days after the Coinbase CEO said it would comply with sanctions against Russia.
Many have questioned whether cryptocurrencies can be used to avoid sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
There are very few possibilities, said Brian Armstrong, CEO at Coinbase. In the same thread, he also emphasized that Coinbase will not ban Russians from using the exchange in advance.
Trezor wallet shipments to Russia stopped immediately after sanctions
Satoshi Labs, the maker of the Trezor hardware wallet, announced to stop sending its cold wallet shipments to Russia shortly after the sanctions. Accordingly, they became one of the next companies to comply with global sanctions against Russia.
Hardware wallet maker Trezor is the latest company to withdraw from the Russian market. A spokesperson for the company Satoshi Labs (the parent company of Trezor) confirmed that they will not distribute cold wallets to Russia.
There has been some discussion about whether Russian citizens can use cryptocurrencies to avoid the effects of sanctions. The EU has even talked about including cryptocurrencies in the sanctions to prevent any loopholes.
Actions against Russia come quickly after its aggressive moves towards Ukraine. PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa have all suspended their services in the country, and even the famously neutral Switzerland has frozen the crypto assets of Russians who played a role in the incident.
But there has been a lot of concern about the effect of cryptocurrencies on ordinary Russian citizens. This is what some in the industry are talking about. In it, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong asserted that digital currency can be a lifesaver for innocent citizens.
However, the crypto world is in a dilemma because it works to keep the spirit of decentralization true, while not being aggressive with the authorities. It remains to be seen whether any changes will take place in the coming months.