Kraken joins a long list of crypto-exchanges that have been forced to leave the country by increasingly harsh EU sanctions. The crypto exchange Kraken has confirmed that it will adhere to the European Union’s newly introduced sanctions package.
A spokesperson for Kraken told Decrypt via email that Kraken complies with all legal and regulatory requirements in every jurisdiction where it operates. “We have been working since the EU’s announcement to make the necessary changes to comply with the most recent package of sanctions against Russia.”
The spokesperson declined to comment on whether Russian users were banned from the platform.
Kraken’s announcement came after the EU activated its latest sanctions package. This package was intended to punish Russia for its aggression towards Ukraine on October 6.
These sanctions are a blanket ban on all payments from the EU to Russia.
Previous EU sanctions only capped transactions at EUR10,000 ($9 800).
This ban follows a wave of crypto firms moving to deny users access in the country. Joined Blockchain.com, Crypto.com and Local Bitcoins, all of which announced last week that they would close access.
This news contradicts previous statements Kraken made earlier in the year. They stated that it would keep Russian accounts open and called a ban “unfair” for average Russians who might be opposed to the war in Ukraine.
co-founder and Kraken CEO Jesse Powell stated that depriving Russian users of account access was “a pretty extreme step” that goes beyond denying them access to their music streaming services or photo sharing apps.
According to CoinGecko Kraken is currently fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange, with around \$356million in trading volume over the last 24 hours.
