To freeze all Russian Crypto Accts .."would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists"

[Budi]

Reply from Binance, the world's largest exchange.
😬 Why Putin pushed for crypto long ago, to hide financial detection from Monetary watchdogs.

Link to tweet

So Crypto is defining itself as an engine of political repression, corruption, illegal transactions, and destruction of the environment.

Response should be to cut crypto exchanges off from every legal financial institution. Make it illegal to exchange crypto for any legal asset.

@maxwellstrachan
A top Ukrainian politician asked crypto exchanges to freeze all Russian accounts to aid the war effort.

Binance, the world's largest exchange, said doing so "would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists."

[dlk]

1. Sounds like Binance is openly providing an escape hatch for Putin

This is an obvious way for Putin and his oligarchs to circumvent all of the the other financial sanctions.

[Cha]

2. Ohh..

I Hope they Can Still STOP him!

Link to tweet

[BootinUp]

3. Fuck Crypto. I choose human lives. nt

[honest.abe]

25. I was about to write exactly the same.

[lapfog_1]

4. Binance is made up of people, right?

Move them and their families to Kyiv... and don't let them into the subways and underground bunkers.

Maybe they change their ideas about crypto.

[JCMach1]

28. Binance equals China ... Judge the geopolitics

For itself

[hueymahl]

6. Millions of $$$ in cryptocurrency has been donated directly to Ukraine for its defense

This tweet/article has it exactly backwards. Crypto provides a lifeline to ordinary Russians who are seeing the worth of their native currencies be destroyed.

[Cha]

11. Really?! I'd like to

believe that.. may I ask where you are getting this from?

TY

[JCMach1]

15. See below... It's likely approaching 100M by now...

[hueymahl]

22. See below

This is the official twitter account of Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine. He has several crypto address listed where you can donate. I have seen a bunch of other tweets about donating crypto in other ways, but I am very wary of scammers. This one I feel comfortable about, but DYOR:


https://twitter.com/FedorovMykhailo

[Cha]

30. Mahalo.. I appreciate this

information!

[Baked Potato]

7. The truth emerges. Like WWF admitting it's fake.

Like Fox admitting it’s fake, I mean not news, I mean entertainment.

[krawhitham]

8. They freeze crypto wallets all the time, Canada just did so with the 'Freedom Convoy' organizers

Global cryptocurrency enthusiasts have expressed concerns over Canadian authorities freezing bank accounts and crypto wallets involved in funding local COVID-19 protests.

On Thursday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod issued an order freezing all the digital assets and bank accounts associated with “Freedom Convoy,” a series of ongoing protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-community-condemns-canada-for-freezing-dissidents-bitcoin-wallets

[dalton99a]

9. +1

[fescuerescue]

26. They ordered it frozen

But that is much differently than actually freezing it.

It's kinda like banning drugs.

[hueymahl]

27. There is a saying in crypto - not your wallet, not your coins

What it means is that if you leave your money on an exchange, then they can freeze it. kind of like they can freeze your money in a bank (which is what the RU banking system is doing to ordinary russians).

But if you hold your own crypto keys in a private wallet, NO ONE can freeze it or take it, short of imprisoning you.

Imagine how powerful and liberating this is to ordinary citizens of Russia, China and other totalitarian regimes.

So, in short, true crypto wallets CANNOT be frozen, at least not in the traditional sense. They would have to physically detain the owner.

[ibegurpard]

10. Good

Drive a stake through the heart of this vaporware pyramid scheme.

[Gore1FL]

12. Crypto "exists" as a scam

So, I guess, freezing all accounts would "fly in the face" of the scam, itself.

[JCMach1]

13. Ukraine has been receiving millions in direct aid via crypto

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/02/28/ukraine-government-is-using-crypto-aid-to-purchase-critical-supplies/

Ukraine has one of the most liberal cryptocurrency policies in the world ...
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/ukraine-crypto-legalize

[Cha]

16. TY.. this is encouraging!

[JCMach1]

14. Also, please get the story straight. Putin has been pushing a crypto ban

And pushing a digital ruble...

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/02/16/bank-of-russia-proceeds-with-digital-ruble-renews-push-for-crypto-ban/

[Celerity]

18. Thank you for being a voice of informed reason. nt

[Dorian Gray]

17. This is the best reason

i've heard yet to destroy crypto as a currency.

[Celerity]

19. ironically you are agreeing with Russia's FSB & Central Bank: Bank of Russia Seeks to Outlaw Crypto

Mining, Trading

Central bank proposed a far-ranging ban in a report Thursday
Russia’s FSB is also pushing for a ban on cryptocurrencies

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-20/russia-s-fsb-tells-nabiullina-to-ban-crypto-to-defund-opposition



Russian central bank to seek ban on investment in cryptocurrencies

https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/russian-cenbank-seek-ban-investment-cryptocurrencies-sources-say-2021-12-16/

(Reuters) - The Russian central bank wants to ban investments in cryptocurrencies in Russia, seeing risks to financial stability in the rising number of crypto transactions, two financial market sources close to the bank said.

snip

Russia has argued for years against cryptocurrencies, saying they could be used in money laundering or to finance terrorism. It eventually gave them legal status in 2020 but banned their use as a means of payment.

The central bank is now in talks with market players and experts about a possible ban. If approved by lawmakers, it could apply to new purchases of crypto assets but not to those bought in the past, said one of the financial market sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Another source close to the Bank of Russia said the central bank's current position was a "complete rejection" of all cryptocurrencies.

snip



Bloomberg: FSB of Russia persuaded the Central Bank to oppose cryptocurrencies due to transfers from the opposition and the media to “foreign agents”

https://www.perild.com/2022/01/20/bloomberg-fsb-of-russia-persuaded-the-central-bank-to-oppose-cryptocurrencies-due-to-transfers-from-the-opposition-and-the-media-to-foreign-agents/



Mining Bitcoin may soon be banned in Russia, the world’s third largest crypto miner

https://fortune.com/2022/01/20/mining-bitcoin-crypto-ban-russia/

[Dorian Gray]

35. yeah

may not have thought that one through well enough.....

[Celerity]

36. they do not like it because it often funds threats to them, authoritarians are control freaks

[Celerity]

20. Could bitcoin be Putin's economic savior? That's unlikely, experts say

Virtual currencies such as bitcoin are sometimes associated with lawlessness, but the reality is they’ve become a regulated business with safeguards against money laundering.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/bitcoin-putins-economic-savior-s-unlikely-experts-say-rcna17724

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have made it easier than ever to move money around the world without the help of traditional banks, but that doesn’t mean they’ll do much to help Russia sidestep international sanctions.

Experts in money laundering on Friday said that it would not be realistic for Russia to switch to cryptocurrencies on a large scale to move money across borders, even if it might work for smuggling small amounts into or out of the country.

Russia may still try to launder money that way, especially if the United States and European Union impose much stronger sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine, but a sharp turn toward cryptocurrency hasn’t been very successful for other outcast countries such as Venezuela that have tried it, experts said.

“The fact is, these sanctions are going to be potentially crippling and could become more crippling, and there’s nothing crypto can do about that,” said Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at TRM Labs, a cryptocurrency compliance firm.

snip

[yardwork]

21. That's what crypto currency has been from the beginning,

[hueymahl]

23. Crypto is an existential threat to totalitarian governments

It is a beacon of freedom for the people living under those regimes.

Want proof? I can post 1000 word essays from experts around the world, or you can just look and see which countries are looking to ban it and which countries are embracing it. Short answer, the less free a country is, the more they have restricted it. See, e.g., China.

[lapfog_1]

31. there is always a heads and tails to a coin

the tails here is that the oligarchs can also use crypto to move money (illegally stolen from the Russian people) to places where they are now banned from spending money.

[hueymahl]

32. True

But my guess is that the Oligarchs are already very well position across the globe with reserve assets sufficient to ride out any sanctions. Ordinary Russians and others suffering under totalitarian regimes, not so much.

[fescuerescue]

24. It's not really possible to freeze Crypto anyway

[Cognitive_Resonance]

29. High-tech black markets. Alt financial system for benefit of criminals and despots. nt

[hueymahl]

33. Very simplistic, and wrong, take

[H2O Man]

34. Recommended.