Coinbase (COIN) Says It Blocked 25k Russian Crypto Addresses

Crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) said it has blocked more than 25,000 addresses related to Russian individuals or entities suspected to be involved in illicit activity.

The crypto exchange said it fully supports global governments’ efforts to sanction Russia after its decision to invade Ukraine.

“Sanctions play a vital role in promoting national security and deterring unlawful aggression, and Coinbase fully supports these efforts by government authorities. Sanctions are serious interventions, and governments are best placed to decide when, where, and how to apply them,” Coinbase said in a blog post.

The company said it is launching its own global sanctions program to block access to actors affected by the sanctions, anticipate potential threats and identify attempts at evasion.

Coinbase also said it checks account applications against lists of sanctioned parties during the onboarding process. Those who want to open a Coinbase account are required to provide ID information, including name and country of residence. If the party that wants to open an account lives in a sanctioned country/region, they will not be allowed to complete the process.

Furthermore, the company utilizes geofencing technology to prevent anyone from the sanctioned region from accessing Coinbase’s website, products, and services.

Also, by updating the global sanctions list on a regular basis, Coinbase identifies and terminates accounts that have been opened and later sanctioned. Through this screening process, the crypto exchange identifies those who attempt to mask and fake their identities.

“For example, when the United States sanctioned a Russian national in 2020, it specifically listed three associated blockchain addresses. Through advanced blockchain analysis, we proactively identified over 1,200 additional addresses potentially associated with the sanctioned individual, which we added to our internal blocklist. This is just one example,” Coinbase added.

Ultimately, the company utilizes advanced blockchain analytics technology to anticipate and identify potential threats and develop new mitigations. The company is able to identify accounts owned by sanctioned parties outside of the exchange, even though Coinbase cannot directly access their personal information.

By Senad Karaahmetovic | [email protected]

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