The US Treasury has released a document hinting that sanctions against Russia imposed last year would be expanded. Digital currency is mentioned in one part specifically.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury is “creating regulations to implement an April 15, 2021 Russia-related Executive order,” according to the present document.
The order was issued last year after the Biden administration discovered Russian meddling in US elections and other democratic activities. Despite the fact that the executive order mentions incidents from last year, such as election meddling, the decision to expand on the original order is certainly linked to ongoing sanctions against Russia in the aftermath of its invasion of Ukraine.
Biden announced fresh sanctions today against Russia’s central bank, prohibiting American firms and persons from trading with the country’s largest financial institution. Calls to prohibit Russian users have also prompted cryptocurrency exchanges to respond, but these calls came from Ukraine’s vice prime minister rather than the US. Binance and Kraken, two exchanges, have stated that they will not comply with this request unless legally obliged to do so.
