Whoops! Korea's Largest Crypto Exchange Upbit And Bithumb Agree To Block Russian Users, Gopax And Korbit Also Join

South Korean crypto exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit and Gopax have blocked Russian users. (Photo; Vadim Artyukhin-Unsplash)

JAKARTA – Leading crypto exchanges from South Korea, including Bithumb, Upbit, Gopax, and Korbit, are reportedly planning to block users from Russia. The four exchanges add to the weight of global sanctions imposed on the country led by Putin after the military invasion of Ukraine.

Upbit cs. has now blocked IP from Russia. In addition, they also refused requests for withdrawal of assets from Russian IPs. They explained that the action was an effort to avoid countries that have the potential to do money laundering.

"We have blocked subscriptions from users in countries at high risk of money laundering, in line with Financial Action Task Force guidelines," the company added.

Another big platform that enforces the policy is Gopax. It not only bans IP addresses from Russia but also freezes 20 registered accounts of Russian users. Other exchanges that have discontinued their services to those customers are Bithumb and Korbit.

This action is in contrast to those taken by Binance and Kraken which have emphatically resisted calls to block Russian users. Both exchanges agree that freezing accounts violate the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies. Because crypto has become a symbol of financial freedom for various groups.

Kraken's CEO thinks most Russians are likely to oppose his country's invasion of Ukraine. He added that bitcoin is the embodiment of libertarian values. Therefore, he emphasized that Kraken cannot freeze Russian user accounts without legal requirements.

On the other hand, the former first lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, expressed her disappointment with Binance and Kraken's decision to refuse to sanction Russia by freezing user accounts.

“I was disappointed to see that some of the so-called crypto exchanges, not all of them, but some of them refused to end dealings with Russia for some libertarian philosophy or whatever."

Clinton argues that the Treasury and European Departments should prevent crypto markets that could potentially provide a way out for Russia to be financially sanctioned.