{"id":443653,"date":"2022-05-08T08:14:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-08T05:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/for-the-crypto-industry-supporting-sanctions-is-an-opportunity-to-rebrand\/"},"modified":"2022-05-08T08:14:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-08T05:14:00","slug":"for-the-crypto-industry-supporting-sanctions-is-an-opportunity-to-rebrand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/for-the-crypto-industry-supporting-sanctions-is-an-opportunity-to-rebrand\/","title":{"rendered":"# For the crypto industry, supporting sanctions is an opportunity to rebrand"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2416640e9ef\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2416640e9ef\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/for-the-crypto-industry-supporting-sanctions-is-an-opportunity-to-rebrand\/#%E2%80%9D_For_the_crypto_industry_supporting_sanctions_is_an_opportunity_to_rebrand_%E2%80%9C\" >&#8221; For the crypto industry, supporting sanctions is an opportunity to rebrand &#8220;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/for-the-crypto-industry-supporting-sanctions-is-an-opportunity-to-rebrand\/#Cryptocurrency_exchanges_are_standing_at_a_moral_crossroads\" >Cryptocurrency exchanges are standing at a moral crossroads<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/for-the-crypto-industry-supporting-sanctions-is-an-opportunity-to-rebrand\/#The_risk_of_greater_marginalization\" >The risk of greater marginalization<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/for-the-crypto-industry-supporting-sanctions-is-an-opportunity-to-rebrand\/#Could_regulation_be_the_answer\" >Could regulation be the answer?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9D_For_the_crypto_industry_supporting_sanctions_is_an_opportunity_to_rebrand_%E2%80%9C\"><\/span>&#8221; For the crypto industry, supporting sanctions is an opportunity to rebrand &#8220;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-v-2a0745c6>One of the first punitive measures leveled against Russia in response to the military invasion of Ukraine was the implementation of economic sanctions aimed at isolating the country from the international financial system. On March 12, Russian banks <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/finance\/eu-excludes-seven-russian-banks-swift-official-journal-2022-03-02\/\">lost<\/a> access to the international payments and messaging network SWIFT, and private sector payment companies, such as Visa, PayPal and Mastercard, were close behind. But while these highly regulated and publicly scrutinized organizations were quick to react to the crisis, concerns quickly mounted that the Russian state, as well as companies and oligarchs associated with it, could turn to digital currency exchanges as a backdoor to side-step sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>In the United Kingdom, the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority asked crypto firms to enforce sanctions across their platforms, and central banks and regulators around the world have since joined this chorus of concern. Most recently, Japan <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/japan-revise-foreign-exchange-law-end-crypto-loophole-sanctions-russia-2022-03-28\/\">announced<\/a> it would be revising its Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. This aims to widen its breadth to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ly to crypto assets, meaning exchanges will be required to assess whether their clients are Russian sanction targets.<\/p>\n<p>And yet some of the most well-known crypto exchanges are still dragging their feet, reluctant to toe the line drawn by global policymakers and regulators. Binance, the world\u2019s biggest exchange, as well as Coinbase and Kraken, have all shown empathy for the plight of Ukrainians, and some have frozen accounts linked to sanctioned individuals, but they have all stopped short of stepping back out of Russia or blocking all money flows into and out of the country.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Every Bitcoin helps: Crypto-fueled relief aid for Ukraine<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As the CEO of Poland\u2019s largest cryptocurrency exchange, I understand the moral dilemma they face, torn between free-market ideals and a sense of moral duty, but as this devastating human tragedy unfolds in Eastern Europe, we as an industry must be doing more to condemn the violence through access to our platforms. At Zonda, we didn\u2019t make the decision to withdraw from Russia lightly, but we did make it quickly, and in so doing voted for peace, transparency and respect for the spirit of global regulation. Failure to do so will be seen by many around the world as indifference at best or, at worst, active support.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cryptocurrency_exchanges_are_standing_at_a_moral_crossroads\"><\/span>Cryptocurrency exchanges are standing at a moral crossroads<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Ukraine conflict has unearthed a tension at the ideological heart of cryptocurrency. Digital currencies were first imagined with a vision of creating a decentralized global financial system, free from financial tinkering by governments, central banks and large financial services firms. And yes, there are many reasons why decentralization is something we should be exploring, not least the quest for greater transparency, accountability and security. But we cannot let this quest for the purest form of financial independence lead us down a dark path, one where we believe the laws of the land \u2014 moral or otherwise \u2014 do not apply to us. Ideological support for decentralization can never justify the conscious facilitation of criminal activity.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-05\/30ccc407-ebe9-4bdb-aa7b-2ae3b5bb96db.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>We as an industry should ask ourselves what kind of world we want to create and let our morals drive our actions. Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine is an undeniable breach of international law and the indiscriminate targeting of Ukrainian civilians, in locations such as Mariupol, is not an ethical gray area.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\u2018I\u2019ve never paid with crypto before\u2019: How digital assets make a difference amid a war<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_risk_of_greater_marginalization\"><\/span>The risk of greater marginalization<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The current crisis calls for a united collaborative response from every corner of every industry and provides a rare window for the global crypto sector to stand together and take unified action. The crypto asset industry should be doing more to demonstrate that it takes the activity taking place under its roof seriously. This could include freezing Russian and Belarusian users\u2019 accounts, and rejecting requests for new accounts from consumers in these regions. In fact, I believe this is the best chance we have of shaking some of the criminal connotations that continue to plague our industry.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-05\/1c408e43-0970-4b9b-9943-8679ab0dde4a.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>Bitcoin\u2019s (BTC) price has skyrocketed over the past couple of years, and a large driver of this has been greater integration with the wider financial services industry. Failing to read the room on this crisis risks jeopardizing the trust the crypto industry has built in recent years with regulators, policymakers and consumers. It would signal to these stakeholders that it sees itself wholly removed from their missions, and indeed from the real world.<\/p>\n<p>There are of course commercial factors at play here, too. Companies that demonstrate to their customers a shared sense of purpose and moral value enjoy 14.1% greater revenue growth and 34.7% greater annualized total shareholder return. The crypto sector is no exception, and as the war rages on in Ukraine, those who failed to act swiftly to support the victims will be remembered for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Crypto offers Russia no way out from Western sanctions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Could_regulation_be_the_answer\"><\/span>Could regulation be the answer?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Financial Stability Board announced in February it would be developing a global regulatory framework for crypto assets, the first significant step in international homogenous guidelines. At the same time, the United States Securities and Exchange Committee launched a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/files\/34-94062-fact-sheet.pdf\">plan<\/a> to regulate alternative trading systems, which would let regulators probe into crypto platforms and even decentralized finance protocols.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-05\/bc863d8f-3557-4cd3-8576-4f784476066e.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>As it stands, there is no sign that these regulations will mandate action on economic sanctions, but they will introduce further checks and balances that will lend greater transparency to the money flowing through digital asset exchanges and further dissuade illicit activity. But it\u2019s no secret that regulators are playing catch up with the rapid pace of innovation in the crypto space, and we should not wait for them to catch up to do the right thing. It\u2019s up to us to carry the torch for the reputation of the industry we all love.<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-content__disclaimer\"><em>This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"post-content__disclaimer\"><em>The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author\u2019s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.<\/em><\/p>\n<div>\n<div style=\"background: rgb(239, 239, 239); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px;\"><strong>Przemys\u0142aw Kral<\/strong> is the CEO of Zonda (previously BitBay) and serves on its board of directors. Previously, Przemys\u0142aw was BitBay\u2019s chief legal officer. He\u2019s played a key role in Zonda\u2019s strategic business development, including its regulatory approval in Canada and Estonia. Przemys\u0142aw has over 20 years of experience in the legal field and is a member of the Foreign Lawyers\u2019 Association of the British Bar Council.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><template data-name=\"subscription_form\" data-type=\"law_decoded\"><\/template><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/for-the-crypto-industry-supporting-sanctions-is-an-opportunity-to-rebrand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8221; For the crypto industry, supporting sanctions is an opportunity to rebrand &#8220; One of the first punitive measures leveled against Russia in response to the military invasion of Ukraine was the implementation of economic sanctions aimed at isolating the country from the international financial system. On March 12, Russian banks lost access to the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":443654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/1200_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjItMDUvNjhhMWRjYzctYzcyOC00NDM1LTg0ZDAtMTNlYmFiNmQxOGRiLmpwZw==.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74862,74894,74863,74355,70934,4975,71523,70868],"class_list":["post-443653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bitcoin","tag-blockchain","tag-cryptocurrencies","tag-adoption","tag-regulation","tag-russia","tag-sanctions","tag-ukraine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}