https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/wall-street-is-already-po... JPMorgan Dimon caught buying up distressed Russian assets while prohibiting its brokerage clients from investing in Russia stocks, and prohibiting them from buying crypto asset stocks, and freezing/stealing Russia[ns] access to their own money, and getting criminally prosecuted and settling for $Billions by US regulatory for manipulation and fraud multiple times. Kraken fighting the good freedom fight in public first, with Binance and now Coinbase etc in the wings, against calls to mass censor millions of innocent civilians in regions, parties and other entities without any evidence, justification, jurisdiction, judicial or other due process. Astounding all those calling for censorship, foolish be they laying out tools that will be used to censor themselves and their own monetary freedom in turn. Coinbase CEO: "Ordinary Russians Are Using Crypto As A Lifeline" https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1499621509651787782 As we reported earlier this week, most popular crypto exchanges have declined requests by western officials to cut off all Russian customers, as crypto trading volume soared as investors appeared to front-run expectations for massive capital outflows as sanctions bite. While most trading denominated in Russia rubles has been taken place on Hong Kong-based Binance, even popular US exchanges like the publicly traded Coinbase have refused to cut off all Russian users - at least, for the moment. And for the first time since this "controversy" first emerged, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has spoken up to offer an explanation. And that explanation is that millions of ordinary Russians are now using crypto "as a lifeline" to preserve their hard-won assets during a time when the Russian ruble, and other Russian assets, are being mercilessly devalued. "Some ordinary Russians are using crypto as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed. Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too," Armstrong said. As Armstrong pointed out, Coinbase is obligated to comply with US sanctions, like any other US-based business. But until sanctions stipulate otherwise, the exchange will continue providing services to the Russian people (excluding those whose names have wound up on the US Treasury's sanctions list). And bitcoin's public blockchain, a feature of most cryptocurrencies, makes it an ill-suited avenue for Russian oligarchs looking to protect their billions, he added. See the full thread below: 1/ We've been seeing some questions/discussion around whether crypto can be used to avoid sanctions. A few thoughts... — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 2/ Every US company has to follow the law - it doesn't matter if your company handles dollars, crypto, gold, real estate or even non financial assets. Sanctions laws apply to all US people and businesses. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 3/ So it would be a mistake to think crypto businesses like Coinbase won't follow the law. Of course we will. This is why we screen people who sign up for our services against global watchlists, and block transactions from IP addresses that might... — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 4/ ...belong to sanctioned individuals or entities, just like any other regulated financial services business. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 5/ That being said, we don’t think there’s a high risk of Russian oligarchs using crypto to avoid sanctions. Because it is an open ledger, trying to sneak lots of money through crypto would be more traceable than using U.S. dollars cash, art, gold, or other assets. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 6/ This is not just my opinion btw — experts at the US Treasury and NSC agree. For example: https://t.co/OVEKkMTCRO — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 7/ In addition, we are not preemptively banning all Russians from using Coinbase. We believe everyone deserves access to basic financial services unless the law says otherwise. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 8/ Some ordinary Russians are using crypto as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed. Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too. That said, if the US government decides to impose a ban, we will of course follow those laws. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 9/ Sanctions are a complex issue, and the situation is changing fast, so we’ll keep working with law enforcement and governments, and will take more steps as needed. We'll also of course keep working to enable crypto services for the people of Ukraine who are in need of help. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 Armstrong's Twitter comments reflect those from Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who said on Wednesday that it would be "unethical" for his exchange to restrict all Russians. "It's not our decision to make whether to ban Russians...we just follow rules, we don't make them. Also, just from an ethical point of view, many Russians don't support this war." Does this leave crypto on the "wrong side" of the norms? Not necessarily, CZ said. "We're doing exactly what their recommendations are." Just like all major banks and any other financial institutions. And as strategists from Citi explained earlier this week, while the potential for capital flight from Russia remains high, trading volumes (although impressive-looking on the chart) have been relatively small in absolute terms so far (around 210 bitcoin per day on average). This suggests that the price action is more due to investors positioning for an expected uptick in demand from Russia, rather than Russian demand itself, and furthermore, it underlines the reality that bitcoin and crypto more broadly are being treated like a 'boogeyman' by Western officials. JP Morgan, Goldman Scoop Up Distressed Russian Assets As Analysts Fret About Economic Collapse A couple of days ago, as Russia-linked ETFs plunged following a battery of US and European sanctions against Russia designed to isolate its economy and cut its people off from the global financial system, we asked ourselves: who is buying all these Russian assets? The notion that American distressed investors would pass up the opportunity to pick up Russian assets on the cheap seemed, well, counterintuitive. And while China was likely one source of capital, would western investors really allow the sanctions threat to scare them away from an obvious opportunity to buy? Fast forward to last night, and a team of reporters at Bloomberg have produced an answer: at risk of potentially violating US sanctions (which have imposed strict limits on secondary market transactions involving certain types of Russian debt), JP Morgan and Goldman are already scooping up Russian corporate bonds, either for their own book, or on behalf of waiting clients. Here's more from BBG: Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase have been purchasing beaten-down company bonds tied to Russia in recent days, as hedge funds that specialize in buying cheap credit look to load up on the assets, according to people with knowledge of the private transactions. Banks routinely scoop up debt because clients asked them to, or because they expect to find ready buyers. While scooping up distressed debt is a time-testing Wall Street business strategy, buying Russian securities presents "unique risks", as western leaders seek to crack down on Russian companies, not just the government. Already, western firms have been cutting ties with Russian giants like Gazprom. As a reminder, here's a rundown of major firms that have cut ties with Russia (selling their assets or shares, likely at a steep loss). The whole point of the sanctions is to make them and their instruments untouchable. Sanctions have already supposedly cut off Russia's central bank from roughly half of its foreign currency reserves held in accounts abroad. Of course, megabanks like JPM already have a Russian securities business in London. The losses over the past five days have been steep, coming in at 78%, according to Bloomberg. Representatives for Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan declined to comment.