Binance, the world's largest exchange, stated that banning users "unilaterally" "flies in the face of the reason for cryptocurrency's existence." 

Faced with a request by Ukraine's leadership to freeze the accounts of all residents of Russia and Belarus, major cryptocurrency exchanges have resolutely refused, claiming that the measure would unfairly affect citizens and would "fly in the face" of the crypto community's libertarian worldview. 

Over the weekend, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov publicly asked the world's major cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze all accounts belonging to the Russian people, as well as the people of Belarus, a Putin ally, rather than just those belonging to legally sanctioned entities, thereby increasing domestic pressure on Russia to end its invasion. 

Rather than joining the military defence, the United States and European Union have attempted to cripple Russia's economy by aggressively penalising Russian banks, sovereign debt, and leadership, precipitating a collapse in the value of the Russian currency. Simultaneously, bitcoin has become a battleground, with millions of dollars in cryptocurrency given to Ukraine and watchers wondering whether Russia may turn to the blockchain to evade sanctions. 

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is cooperating with the penalties, but a company representative stated that the company would not heed Fedorov's request and would instead "unilaterally suspend the accounts of millions of innocent customers," CNBC reported. 

"Crypto is intended to increase people's financial freedom worldwide. To unilaterally decide to deny people access to their crypto would be contrary to the reason for the existence of crypto," the representative told the newspaper. 

Similarly, Johnny Lyu, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, told CNBC that the company viewed itself as a "neutral platform" that would not do anything beyond what was legally needed, adding that the company did not support "activities that exacerbate" tensions. 

Jesse Powell, the CEO and co-founder of the Kraken Exchange in the United States, went further in a Sunday evening Twitter thread, stating that while he understood "the rationale for this request," he would not freeze all Russian accounts unless legally forced to do so. 

Powell stated that such a request violated Bitcoin's "libertarian beliefs" and that cryptocurrency was intended to be a "weapon of peace, not of war." He added that the company's purpose was to introduce people to the "world of crypto, where arbitrary lines on maps no longer matter and where they are no longer at risk of being caught up in wide, indiscriminate wealth expropriation." 

"Our purpose is enhanced when we place human needs ahead of those of any government or political movement," he continued. "Moreover, if we were to voluntarily freeze the financial accounts of inhabitants of countries that attack and provoke violence throughout the world, the first step would be to freeze all US accounts. Practically speaking, that is not a feasible commercial option for us." 

Powell also cautioned Russian users that a necessity to halt all transactions "may be forthcoming." 

Coinbase, a US-based exchange that claims to be "apolitical" and prohibits political debate at work, did not react to a request for comment on Federov's plea to exchanges. 

The sector's dissatisfaction with Ukraine's proposal is just the latest example of the notoriously freewheeling crypto business balancing its own ideology with government interests. While crypto companies are required to observe the law in the locations in which they operate, they reacted angrily when the Canadian government directed exchanges and other businesses to block particular addresses associated with the anti-vaccine mandate "freedom convoy" protests. 

Canadian currency exchange After receiving the request from authorities, Coinberry, for example, informed Motherboard that it would "make every attempt to safeguard our users from any type of overreach or criminal action that may infringe on their rights." 

Rather than imposing additional sanctions on Russia, the crypto community has largely responded to the Ukraine situation by raising money. Investors have directed cryptocurrency towards the Ukrainian military, purchased the NFTs of Ukrainian artists, and built DAOs and war-related tokens centred on Ukraine. Binance, for its part, has pledged $10 million in donations and launched a crypto fundraising with a $20 million aim on Monday. 

One startup, the Ukrainian NFT and virtual in-game goods bazaar DMarket, did take more severe action over the weekend, locking Russian and Belarusian customers' accounts, prohibiting the usage of the Russian rouble, and prohibiting new registrations from either nation. 

The decision will almost certainly cost the company money—the CEO told Axios Sunday that 30% of DMarket's user base is in Russia and Belarus—but the company has adjusted its priorities, focusing on evacuating its staff from Ukraine and raising money for the Ukrainian military operation. Following the announcement of DMarket's decision, some cryptocurrency fans slammed the company, while Federov supported it, referring to DMarket as modern-day "Robin Hoods."

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