The Ledger: War in Ukraine, Crypto Industry’s Response and US Sanctions

The war in Ukraine came as a surprise to many when Russia attacked the country on February 24. The world has responded by imposing severe sanctions on Russia.

To this end, regulators have begun examining whether digital assets may be used to avoid sanctions. Some fear that Russia will just use its resources and to mine crypto.

Meanwhile, the crypto community is standing by Ukraine and has shown support by introducing features to donate and upgrading user interfaces to make it easier to send aid to Ukrainians.

Dogecoin users have contributed $53,000 this week in a bid to support Ukraine’s resistance against the invaders.

Not everyone has been happy to discontinue doing business in Russia for the time being, though. Crypto exchanges such as Kraken, Binance and Coinbase have decided to allow Russian consumers to access their crypto wallets, although this may change if an official request by a government is made.

The invasion also prompted many people sell their cryptocurrencies as well. Interestingly, the war prompted a spike in the trade volume of USDT and BTC as more Russians rushed to get their hands on cryptocurrency and avoid sanctions that have sent the value of the ruble into free fall.

Outside the war, Steam took some criticism over dodgy NFT features in games. In an interview for PC Gamer, Valve president Gabe Newell said that removing those games was the right thing to do, given the “mind-boggling” number of fake crypto games and transactions.

Meanwhile in South Korea, the crypto industry seems to be doing particularly well. There are several reasons for this. For starters, the strict regulatory norms that were introduced did not really stifle the industry’s ability to grow and thrive.

If anything, the measures assisted South Korea and its crypto businesses to operate based on a clear-cut framework. The country is also looking into a metaverse project that is designed to create new opportunities for consumers.

Interest in crypto has grown elsewhere as well with Saudi Arabia admitting that it would be interested in further exploring the potential of cryptocurrencies. This week crypto reacts to the first major geopolitical distress and the lessons we have learnt are important.

Whether the world and industry can come together to ostracize Russia in order to end the violence in Ukraine remains to be seen.

If you wish to donate to Ukraine and support the country’s efforts in tackling the Russian aggression, please refer to Come Back Alive initiative.

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Written by Barney

Co-founder

Barney is co-founder of CryptoGamblingNews.com. When not at work he can usually be found behind a Nikon. He's won numerous international competitions for his photography and volunteers as a content creator for aid organisations in Africa.

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