Hillary Clinton Urges Biden Administration to Pressure Crypto Exchanges to Block Russian Users – Hillary Clinton, a former presidential candidate, has slammed the Biden administration and European governments for failing to put pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges to stop dealing with Russian users.
“Regulators should look hard at how they can prevent the crypto markets from giving Russia an escape hatch, both official and private transactions in and out of Russia,” she adds.
On MSNBC Monday night, Hillary Clinton, a former first lady, United States senator, secretary of state, and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, slammed the Biden administration, the Treasury Department, and European governments for allowing Russians to use cryptocurrency as a means of escape.
Also Read: Ukraine Now Takes Polkadot – Says It Will Accept Other Coins Soon
Clinton remarked, in response to some large bitcoin exchanges refusing to remove all Russian customers’ accounts:
“I was unhappy to see that some so-called crypto exchanges, not all of them, but some of them, are refusing to terminate transactions with Russia because of some, I don’t know, libertarian ideology or whatever.”
“If there has to be legal or regulatory pressure, everyone should do everything they can right now to isolate Russian economic activities,” she concluded.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister, tweeted on Sunday, requesting that all major cryptocurrency exchanges restrict the addresses of all Russian users, including ordinary users. “It’s critical to sabotage average users as well as addresses associated to Russian and Belarusian politicians,” he tweeted.
Several big cryptocurrency exchanges, on the other hand, have stated that they will not cooperate, refusing to freeze all Russian users’ accounts. Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken are among them. The exchanges, on the other hand, will adhere to sanctions rules.
Jesse Powell, the CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, emphasized that his company can only freeze Russian users’ accounts if a government requests it, recalling what happened in Canada during the Freedom Convoy trucker protest.
Powell, on the other hand, recommended anyone concerned about their accounts being frozen to relocate their coins away from exchanges and keep them in their own possession.
Hillary Clinton Urges Biden Administration to Pressure Crypto Exchanges to Block Russian Users – Clinton believes that governments should devote greater resources to combating the use of cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions. Former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated:
“In the case of Ukraine, I believe the Treasury Department and Europeans should examine how they can prevent the crypto markets from providing an escape hatch for Russia, allowing both official and private transactions into and out of the country.”
Also Read: Analysts Warn of Regulatory Risks if Russia Is Able to Use Crypto to Evade Sanctions
“I’m hoping someone at the Treasury Department is working on a way to stop the leaky valves in the crypto market from allowing Russia to avoid the full brunt of the sanctions,” she said.
Clinton urged the Biden administration to regulate Bitcoin in November, warning of Russian and Chinese influence. She also expressed concern that cryptocurrencies might destabilize countries and threaten the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.
