New Delhi, March 8 (TIWN) Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has blocked over 25,000 addresses related to Russian individuals or entities engaged in illicit activity.

Coinbase said when a user opens an account, it checks provided information against a list of sanctioned individuals or entities provided by US, the UK, European Union, UN, Singapore, Canada, and Japan, as well as blocking users from sanctioned areas such as Crimea, North Korea, Syria, and Iran.  “If someone has opened a Coinbase account and is later sanctioned, we use this ongoing screening process to identify that account and terminate it. Because sanctions evaders often try to mask their identities, Coinbase also proactively works to map transactions beyond the entities and individuals specifically flagged by governments,” it said in a statement late on Monday.