Switzerland blocks Russian accounts on regulated bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges
Important facts:
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Switzerland will add its own sanction in the cryptocurrency sector to the sanctions already imposed on Russia.
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The suspension of cryptocurrency accounts affects people and companies sanctioned by the EU.
The Swiss Treasury announced this Friday that it will freeze the funds of Russian individuals and corporations on regulated exchanges in that country. The information was published in a report by the American media Financial Times.
According to the report, the decision was taken by the Swiss Federal Council, as own disposition which will be added to those already imposed under the European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
It should be noted that although Switzerland is not a member of the EU and has historically taken a strict political stance of perpetual neutrality, the Swiss nation announced its intention last week comply with the economic sanctions package Moscow imposed by Brussels.
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Finance Minister Guy Parmelin said Switzerland implemented the European bloc’s four packages of sanctions this Friday, March 4. It also became known that bank accounts and assets located in Switzerland have been blocked since last Monday, Belonging to 223 Russian citizens.
Statements attributed to “a senior Treasury official” indicate that it would be imperative for Switzerland to expand economic sanctions against Russia to trade crypto assetsas his country wants to protect “the integrity” of its cryptocurrency industry.
The spokesman admitted that this will not be possible Block funds held in self-custodial wallets. “If someone has your cryptographic key, wherever it is, it will be virtually impossible to identify. But if they use crypto services (funds, centralized exchanges, etc.), we can target those service points,” the official explained.
Since 2016, Switzerland has distinguished itself as a favorable country for the development of projects based on cryptocurrencies. Even the canton of Zug, dubbed “Crypto Valley”, was one of the first regions to introduce tax payments with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. On the same Friday it was announced that the Swiss city of Lugano, wants to become a kind of “Bitcoin City”.» European.
However, the Alpine nation has also adhered to regulations drafted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the cryptocurrency industry. This regulation contains heavily contested guidelines, such as requiring users to share private information between regulated exchanges, with the government, and even with the governments of other countries.