- Circle’s CEO stated that cryptos are like double-edged swords.
- Ukraine receives millions in cryptocurrency adoption, and Russia can use the assets to escape imposed sanctions.
- Leading exchanged declined requests to suspend accounts by Russian users.
Circle is the firm behind stablecoin USCD. The company’s CEO termed crypto a double-edged sword. Jeremy Allaire made the remarks as geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalated. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government urged leading crypto exchanges to limit accounts by Belarusian and Russian users. However, the trading platform denied the request, raising crypto regulations concerns.
Crypto Paradox amid Russia-Ukraine War
The crypto space saw rallies this week. That had the global crypto market capitalization regaining the $2 trillion mark. The war tensions in Ukraine triggered the debate on how institutions and individuals can use crypto when the traditional financial market sees disruptions.
According to Bloomberg reports, Allaire said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict reveals cryptocurrencies are double-edged swords. Firstly, Ukrainian charity and military organizations received crypto donations worth over $40 million. On the other side, there’re concerns about Russia using the new asset class to escape sanctions by Western nations. Such cases show the paradox with cryptos, according to Circle’s CEO.
Russia Faces Stiff Sanctions
Recently, Ukrainian vice-minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked leading crypto companies to suspend accounts of Belarusians and Russian users. Top exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance, denied the requests.
Allaire believes these trading platforms lacked the complete info required to recognize high-risk activities. He added that no one knows whether Russian oligarchs used cash amid the war.
Digital currencies see massive demand in Russia as the Russian Ruble plunged to record lows. BTC price sits at ATHs against the Ruble. Such developments raised the worries of the nation using crypto to evade massive sanctions by the West.
Animoca Brand is the only company operating within the crypto industry that discounted services to users in Russia. Another NFT platform based in Ukraine declared freezing investment accounts of Belarusian and Russian users. Indeed, the ongoing war disrupted the financial space.
What are your thoughts about the crypto paradox highlighted above? You can leave your reply in the comment section below.