US diplomats urge Japan's crypto exchanges to cut ties with Russia

The US FSA and Japan's Ministry of Finance had previously warned crypto firms not to conduct transactions involving sanctioned individuals or entities subject to fines or imprisonment.

Officials representing the United States government have reportedly urged Japan's licensed cryptocurrency exchanges to stop doing business with Russia, apparently as part of the country's economic sanctions. According to a Financial Times report on Thursday, US diplomats have asked several of the 31 crypto exchanges licensed to do business in Japan and some miners to halt their operations in Russia. Japan's financial watchdog, the Financial Services Agency, or FSA, has reportedly asked the exchanges to sever all remaining ties with Russia. Cryptocurrencies have become a point of contention among many legislators and regulators in jurisdictions that have imposed sanctions on Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine in February. The FSA and Japan's Ministry of Finance announced in March that crypto firms conducting transactions involving sanctioned individuals or entities in Russia and Belarus would face large fines or prison sentences. Japan, led by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, has imposed its own sanctions on Russia since February, including a ban on the country's gold imports, the provision of certain accounting services and the freezing of Russian assets. The Financial Times report suggested that while many Japanese crypto mining firms and exchanges do not operate directly in Russia, they may have subsidiaries working with local companies that allegedly violate sanctions. Source: cointelegraph.com