Coinbase Touts Blacklist of 25K Russia-Linked Addresses Allegedly Tied to Illicit Activity

Coinbase is blocking 25,000 Russian-linked crypto addresses that it believes are tied to illicit activity, the exchange’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said successful a precocious Sunday blog post.

That fig accounts for years of sanctions and compliance efforts against Russian atrocious actors. In different words, it is not circumstantial to the warfare successful Ukraine. Coinbase said it has not seen a surge successful illicit enactment pursuing Russia’s penetration of Ukraine, Grewal said.

Exchanges person been nether unit to intimately show Russian-linked crypto enactment successful the days pursuing Russia’s onslaught connected Ukraine. Much of that is owed to crypto’s purported hazard arsenic a instrumentality for sanctions evasion. Coinbase and different manufacture participants accidental those fears are overblown.

“Digital assets person properties that people deter communal approaches to sanctions evasion,” Grewal wrote successful the blog post. He aboriginal claimed those properties “can really heighten our quality to observe and deter evasion compared to the accepted fiscal system.”

Coinbase formed the 25,000 blocks arsenic grounds of its “proactive” enactment successful rooting retired atrocious actors. It said it tin expect threats, artifact sanctioned individuals from engaging with the institution and observe attempts astatine evasion.

It's unclear if immoderate of those addresses are controlled by Coinbase oregon are alternatively outer wallets that it has blacklisted. Coinbase has a precise constricted concern footprint wrong Russia, offering lone non-custodial services.