Russia bans crypto exchange WhiteBIT for supporting Ukraine

Russia has banned transactions with cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT for its support of Ukraine, CoinDesk reported. The country has designated the exchange and its parent company, W Group, as Undesirable Organizations, making all related activities within Russia illegal. Russian authorities stated that since the war began in February 2022, the companies have supported the Ukrainian military with financial and technical infrastructure and planned money laundering operations to move funds abroad. WhiteBIT, a global crypto exchange founded in Ukraine, has provided at least $11 million in aid to the Ukrainian military, with approximately $1 million of that amount reportedly used to purchase drones.