Cryptocurrency: Exchanges Under Russia FUD Assault, JPMorgan Hypocrites and Rapists

[grarpamp]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/wall-street-is-already-pouncing-on-russia-s-cheap-corporate-debt

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.