US asks Japan to press crypto exchanges, miners working with Russia, report reveals – Bitcoin News

US diplomats have reportedly called on the Tokyo authorities to increase pressure on Japanese crypto exchanges and miners to cut ties with Russia. The request was made to deepen Moscow’s economic isolation in the midst of the ongoing Russian attack on Ukraine.

Washington wants Japanese crypto companies to cut ties and further isolate Russia

The United States has called on Japan to put more pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges and mining companies that continue to work with Russians. The United States wants the Japanese units to end their business relations with Russia, thus increasing their economic isolation from the rest of the world.

The request, made by US diplomats, is aimed at several of Japan’s more than 30 licensed crypto-trading platforms still present in Russia, the Financial Times revealed in an article on Friday, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The US representatives asked Tokyo to focus on stopping crypto mining with Japanese participation in the Siberian Irkutsk Oblast, said two knowledgeable sources. The region is known as Russia’s mining capital since it offers cheap hydropower and a cool climate.

Other unidentified individuals, close to three stock exchanges, said daily that Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) responded by renewing demands that the currency trading platforms cut off any remaining ties with Russia.

The FSA did not want to comment on the announcement. In mid-March, the regulatory body asked the stock exchanges it oversees to monitor all accounts and transactions involving the transfer of assets to any person or entity subject to sanctions.

Although the agency did not explicitly instruct the companies to close some Russia-related operations, some have already stopped working there. For example, the cryptocurrency exchange Decurret said it decided to suspend its operations in Russia following the FSA’s warning.

A former head of another stock exchange has confirmed that Japanese stock exchanges are facing intensified pressure to move mining or back office operations out of Russia. However, a person who chose to remain anonymous also told the newspaper that they knew of at least one exchange that maintained its Russian operations by establishing a shell company in Singapore to redirect all payments.

The US request comes after the introduction of amendments to Japan’s foreign exchange and foreign trade law introduced to cover cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The changes aim to strengthen Tokyo’s power to limit digital currency flows in and out of the country.

Do you think the Tokyo authorities will be able to convince Japanese crypto exchanges to cut business ties with Russia? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a technology expert from Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’ quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” In addition to crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.