The first thing to say is that crypto exchanges are all complying with sanctions obligations. I mean, it’s the law. If they don’t comply, they face existential penalties. They have all announced that they will do so and I have seen no government official say that they are doing otherwise.

There are no sanctions on ordinary Russian citizens. The sanctions apply only to certain banks and certain individuals. Nevertheless, many Western firms have voluntarily stopped doing business with Russia altogether. Some have done so out of conviction, but many others have done so under public pressure.

Unlike so many other firms, cryptocurrency exchanges have not been cowed by the public pressure to boycott all Russians. While they will certainly comply with sanctions obligations, they said, they would not be preemptively sanctioning ordinary Russians. The rationale is simple: Ordinary Russians don’t deserve to suffer because of Putin’s actions anymore than ordinary Ukrainians.

I think this has very much annoyed people who have little regard for the rule of law and who are used to getting their way with threats.