Bitstamp

Bitstamp is an the Luxembourg cryptocurrency exchange that was launched in 2011 by Neich Codrichei and Damian Merlack. Having invested only 1,000 euros in the launch, they managed to turn Bitstamp into the leading cryptocurrency exchange in. To Europe

History

2023: Crypto exchanges cooperate with Russian arbitration managers in bankruptcy of insolvent debtors

On November 20, 2023, it became known that foreign cryptocurrency exchanges cooperate with Russian arbitration managers in the bankruptcy of insolvent debtors. These are, in particular, the Dubai site Bybit, the European Bitstamp, the Singapore Bitrue, the American Gate.io, as well as OKX, registered in the Seychelles.

According to the Vedomosti newspaper, crypto exchanges inform managers about the presence of crypto wallets in their clients and disclose their numbers. Evgeny Akimov, head of the department for compulsory collection and bankruptcy of Sberbank, spoke about the new practice. According to him, the bank for a long time could not approach the recovery of alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies. It is noted that all known cases of recovery of cryptocurrency funds took place within the framework of operational measures in criminal cases: law enforcement officers seized a computer or smartphone and extracted information about cryptocurrencies from it. Obtaining information about crypto assets directly from exchanges greatly simplifies the collection process.

Foreign cryptocurrency exchanges cooperate with Russian arbitration managers

Market participants say that in practice in bankruptcy cases there are cases of selling cryptocurrencies directly to buyers. Usually, the sale of digital assets occurs through electronic trading, but if their market value is less than 500 thousand rubles, then the arbitration manager can conclude an agreement directly with the buyer of cryptocurrency or sell it through crypto exchanges.

Akimov sees no obstacles to allowing the arbitration manager to sell cryptocurrency on the stock exchange for fiat money - by analogy with the sale of property abroad for bankruptcy purposes. On the other hand, VTB emphasizes that the recovery of such assets may be difficult, since the legal status of cryptocurrency is not regulated. In addition, the effectiveness of cryptocurrency collection depends on the way it is stored (cold or hot wallet).^[1]

2022: Crypto Exchange bans Russians from withdrawing assets

As it became known in early May 2022, the Bitstamp crypto exchange began to block trading or entering cryptocurrency, as well as withdrawing assets.

According to Bitstamp users (their comments appeared in) social networks Reddit , the site promises to return access as soon as it "receives appropriate permission from regulators." By the beginning of May 2022, it is not clear whether the locks affected all users from Russia or only the owners of large accounts.

Bitstamp crypto exchange bans Russians from withdrawing assets

Bitstamp has imposed high regulatory compliance requirements on users before. For example, earlier the exchange demanded that users prove the source of funds. Also, the trading platform required users to provide information about citizenship, place of birth and tax residency.

Cryptocurrency was considered an asset completely independent of any political circumstances. However, after the introduction of international sanctions due to events in Ukraine (the beginning of a special operation of the Russian Federation), Russian clients of crypto exchanges faced a number of restrictions.

Already at the end of February 2022, the BTC-Alpha crypto exchange stopped working with Russian users, the CEX IO platform stopped registering users from Russia and Belarus, the KUNA exchange closed the entry and withdrawal of Russian currency. In early March, Coinbase blocked more than 25,000 wallets of Russian citizens and companies.

According to Forbes, users can go to court on a lawsuit against the stock exchange with a demand to remove restrictions on the account's disposal and restore access to accounts and funds. However, this option is long and unpromising, according to observers of the publication.^[2]

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