The U.S. includes crypto in its list of sanctions on Russian government

After imposing devastating sanctions on Russia, the White House and the Treasury Department have issued a warning to US-based businesses and individuals not to support crypto transactions addressed to specific Russian individuals and banks.

U.S. residents may not use digital currencies to benefit Russia’s government — including the nation’s central bank — as an attempt to shift U.S. sanctions imposed in response to the invasion of Ukraine, according to Treasury Department regulations slated to take effect on March 1. In an attempt to prevent sanctions evasion, the instructions linked crypto transactions to “deceptive or structured transactions or dealings.”

Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary, stated that the actions were taken to “significantly limit Russia’s ability to use assets to finance” its disruptive operations and target the funds Putin and his immediate circle relies on to enable their invasion of Ukraine.  

The extra actions against Russian entities were authorized under Executive Order 14024, which allows the Treasury Department to apply sanctions based on destructive foreign acts, including violations of well-established rules of international law, according to officials.

Today, the United States and our allies and partners are preventing Putin from accessing his war chest to cushion the blow of our sanctions and fund his invasion of Ukraine. https://t.co/NtWvxpR28Z

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 28, 2022

As TheCoinRise reported, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that his government and its allies would impose five major Russian banks, which also resulted in people worrying as many said that Russia could seize funds if the sanctions go too far.

Crypto exchanges are also contacted

As per a report by Bloomberg, the White House has also asked crypto exchanges to prohibit Russian individuals and firms sanctioned by the U.S. and its allies from utilizing digital assets to get around these limitations. Officials have allegedly stated that crypto is not a substitute for the U.S. currency in Russia but that authorities will fight any manipulation of digital assets to evade sanctions.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, requested crypto exchanges to restrict Russian users’ addresses. Binance, on the other hand, stated that it would not unilaterally freeze millions of innocent customers’ accounts, while Kraken stated that the exchange would not intervene unless compelled by law.