The Russian-Ukrainian conflict tests the values of encrypted companies, with different attitudes whether to freeze or not

Crypto assets have played a major role in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Not long ago, Ukraine opened a donation channel for encrypted assets such as BTC and ETH, and has raised more than $37 million in encrypted assets. On the other hand, countries such as Ukraine have called on crypto companies such as exchanges to take sides and call on them to freeze the accounts of Russian users to prevent Russia from using crypto assets to evade sanctions.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhailo Fedorov recently emphasized on social media that not only addresses related to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also addresses of ordinary users should be frozen.

Immediately after, DMarket, a native Ukrainian game NFT trading platform, announced that it would freeze the accounts of Russian and Belarusian users, which means that the assets of these account owners cannot be withdrawn. After this decision was announced, DMarket was mired in controversy, with many even calling it “theft”, accusing it of violating the spirit of decentralization and harming innocent users.

Exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance are relatively neutral. Binance said it has no plans to unilaterally ban Russian users, but will take necessary steps to take action against those sanctioned. Coinbase and Kraken exchanges have also taken a similar stance.

Under the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as encrypted assets are functioning, encrypted companies that claim to be “decentralized” are facing the test of their values.

NFT platform DMarket freezes Russian user accounts, causing controversy

As an emerging asset of globalization, encrypted assets are being involved in the whirlpool of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. As the United States, France and other countries have announced sanctions against Russia, encryption companies that have always advocated decentralization are also facing the problem of choosing a position.

On February 27, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, launched an appeal on social media for crypto-asset exchanges to freeze the accounts of all Russian users to help Ukraine protect itself from terrorism. invaded. He stressed that not only addresses related to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also addresses of ordinary users should be frozen.

A few days ago, Fedorov just announced that Ukraine accepts crypto-asset donations and announced the USDT donation addresses in BTC, ETH and TRC20 formats. The Ukrainian government official believes that crypto assets play an important role in the war.

After Fedorov's call came out, the first response was a game NFT trading market called DMarket. The platform announced that, as a startup born in Ukraine, it has decided to cut all ties with Russia and Belarus. From now on, Russian and Belarusian users are banned from registering on the platform; user accounts previously registered in these regions are frozen; all assets and skins remain in user accounts, but access to their use is currently restricted; the platform no longer supports Russia ruble.

In order to emphasize its position, DMarket also posted the slogan "Stand with Ukraine and say no to Russian aggression" on the homepage of its official website, and attached the blockchain address where Ukraine received donations.