Kraken CEO Jesse Powell has responded to calls for his company to freeze Russian cryptocurrencies amid its attack on Ukraine.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov has publicly asked all major crypto exchanges to freeze accounts in an attempt to further provoke Russia’s resources and end the war.
But the co-founder of one of the most popular cryptocurrency sites in the United States refused, explaining his position in a thread on Twitter. Although he has “deep respect” for the people of Ukraine, he said he believes crypto should impose individualism, not a nationalist union on a country.
“Furthermore, if we were to voluntarily freeze the financial accounts of people in countries that unjustly attack and provoke violence around the world, step 1 would be to freeze all accounts in the United States,” Powell said. wrote on Twitter. “As a matter of practice, this is not really a viable business option for us.”
6/6 Besides, if we were going to voluntarily freeze financial accounts of residents of countries unjustly attacking and provoking violence around the world, step 1 would be to freeze all US accounts. As a practical matter, that's not really a viable business option for us.
/🧵— Jesse Powell (@jespow) February 28, 2022
His comments received widespread support in the Reddit r / Cryptocurrency forum.
“I am [sic] The Russian and I were really heartbroken when people offered to freeze our Crypto. “We have never wanted a war, Putin is the cause of our suffering,” a Reddit user wrote. “Down the streets, we are also protesting against this invasion.
Powell said he would freeze the accounts only if he was legally obligated, an opportunity he believes could be inevitable as Russian attacks continue to intensify.
Many Russians have already invested in cryptocurrencies, and the country ranks 18th in the world in terms of acceptance.
This story was originally presented on Fortune.com