As you know, we regularly inform you that different countries are constantly trying to approach cryptocurrencies in their own way, as it is still a relatively young industry and it is still complicated to distinguish between them. As recently confirmed by the Guardian, the United Kingdom has decided to introduce new crypto rules due to the invasion of Ukraine, as the authorities fear that Russia, which has been sanctioned without precedent, could start using crypto exchanges to circumvent the sanctions that have been imposed on this country. This decision was also met with a positive response among law firms and sends a clear signal that the industry is on Ukraine’s side, as evidenced by the amount collected in cryptocurrencies for Ukraine, which recently exceeded $50 million.
“Crypto and virtual assets are treated no differently to any other type of assets for the purposes of an asset freeze.“
The official guidelines were updated last week and must now include the phrase “crypto assets” and if it is proven that sanctions have been imposed on an organization or individual, crypto exchanges are required to freeze the digital assets in question, according to the new statements. The Treasury Department’s Financial Sanctions Implementation Office has declared that it will now be illegal for an exchange to neglect to report suspected sanctions violations. Such obligations can be compared with the obligations of brokers, lawyers, or accountants. Even such a step has once again brought the crypto industry closer to many other industries, and the general public will gradually begin to take it as more relevant.
