Discussion

• @billackman Bill Ackman on x

  I wouldn't want to keep money in a bank that can't access the SWIFT system. Once a bank can't transfer or receive funds from other banks, its solvency can be at risk. If I were Russian, I would take my money out now. Bank runs could begin in Russia on Monday. #StandWithUkraine

• @whitehouse @whitehouse on x

  As a result of Putin's ongoing assault on Ukraine, @POTUS and the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Canada decided to take specific measures to further isolate Russia from the international financial system. https://www.whitehouse.gov/...

• @secblinken Secretary Antony Blinken on x

  As a result of Putin's war on Ukraine, we join with leaders of EU, France, Germany, Italy, UK and Canada to ensure key sanctioned Russian banks are disconnected from SWIFT, impose restrictions on Russian Central Bank, and further identify and freeze assets of sanctioned Russians.

• @balajis Balaji Srinivasan on x

  If the financial nuking of Russia is sufficient to defeat it, that's the transition of national security fully into the digital realm. Tanks don't matter against sufficient social media and financial control. Everyone then recalculates the board. The physical is now secondary.

• @zacharybasu Zach Basu on x

  In addition to SWIFT and Russian Central Bank sanctions, Western allies are forming a joint task force to “collectively hunt down the physical assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs — their yachts, jets, fancy cars and luxury homes.” https://www.axios.com/...

• @balajis Balaji Srinivasan on x

  This is much bigger than even the SWIFT shutdown. Russia made the mistake of holding its assets on computers where others have root access. With a keypress they got shut down. QWERTY was in retrospect much more of a threat to them than NATO. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... h…

• @jeneps Jennifer Epstein on x

  The Russian banks already sanctioned by the EU, U.S., others are the first targets for being cut out of SWIFT, but other Russian banks could be added, German spokesman says. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @shaanvp Shaan Puri on x

  Moral dillemma for crypto. The west is de-banking Russia. Cut off SWIFT, freeze russian central bank assets. So if Russia turned to crypto, and crypto enabled them to continue the war/invasion/human suffering. how would you feel?

• @axios @axios on x

  In addition to the SWIFT ejection, Western countries agreed to: 1. Undermine the Russian Central Bank's ability to defend the ruble. 2. Limit the sale of “golden passports” that allow wealthy Russians to become citizens of Western countries. https://www.axios.com/...

• @martin_indyk Martin Indyk on x

  The ratchet goes up several notches. What's remarkable is how Zelensky's and Ukrainians' courage in the face of Putin's violent invasion has so SWIFTly galvanized world public opinion to press their governments to do more to punish Russia and help Ukraine. https://www.axios.com/.…

• @ryan_chua Ryan Edward Chua on x

  A consensus has emerged to prevent Russia from using the plumbing of the modern financial system and isolate it as a pariah similar to Iran, Venezuela and North Korea. https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @bpolitics

• @timobrien Tim O'Brien on x

  Twin financial attacks afoot: A near-consensus to prevent Russia from accessing the banking system by isolating it as a pariah state akin to Iran/North Korea while also targeting the $643 billion of central bank reserves Putin amassed ahead of his attack. https://www.bloomberg.co…

• @whitehouse @whitehouse on x

  Continuing our lock step, historic coordination, the Leaders decided disconnect key sanctioned Russian banks from SWIFT, target the Russian central bank, and launch a joint task force to hunt down assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs.

• @anilvohra1962 @anilvohra1962 on x

  Cutting off Russia from SWIFT and sanctioning the Bank of Russia would be severe punishment for the people of Russia. Right now those people are anti Putin and opposed to his war. Forcing the nation into bankruptcy will give them a reason to back Putin and fight the oppressors. h…

• @axios @axios on x

  Some European allies had previously expressed concern that disconnecting Russian banks' access to the primary system for global financial transactions would cause collateral economic damage. https://www.axios.com/...

• @anildash @anildash on x

  @ShaanVP Enabling things like that is exactly the goal of many of the earliest and most strident crypto advocates. They are pretty consistent about being unbothered by even the most immoral uses of the infrastructure.

• @ivohdaalder Ivo Daalder on x

  Smart to work with Allies to maximize impact of sanctions. Much better to walk together than run ahead alone. These sanctions only work if done in tandem with EU and others. https://twitter.com/...

• @emilyhorne46 Emily Horne on x

  Continuing our historic coordination, the U.S. and our partners are: ✅disconnecting key sanctioned Russian banks from SWIFT ✅targeting the Russian Central Bank ✅launching joint task force to hunt down assets of sanctioned Russian companies & oligarchs https://www.whitehouse.gov/.…

• @carnage4life @carnage4life on x

  I wonder if Coinbase product teams can discuss what to do if they get an influx of Russian customers after the SWIFT ban kicks in or whether that counts as discussing politics at work?

• @schuldensuehner @schuldensuehner on x

  US is weighing sanctions on #Russia's central bank, a move that would target much of the $643bn in reserves that Russian President Vladimir Putin had amassed ahead of his invasion of #Ukraine. Russia's CenBank has moved from US Dollar into Euro & Yuan. https://www.bloomberg.com/.…

• @borisjohnson Boris Johnson on x

  Read our Joint Statement: https://www.gov.uk/...

• @mcfaul Michael McFaul on x

  Huge. Well done leaders of the free world! Joint Statement on Further Restrictive Economic Measures https://www.whitehouse.gov/... via @whitehouse

• @lisaabramowicz1 Lisa Abramowicz on x

  “Sanctioning Russia's central bank is likely to have a dramatic effect on the Russian economy and its banking system, similar to what we saw in 1991. This would likely lead to massive bank runs...& possibly, a full-on collapse of Russia's financial system” https://www.bloomberg.c…

• @mdudas Mike Daodas on x

  this is a major sanction that is much needed but will also impact every russian citizen perhaps the wake up call that everyone who can should self custody some portion of wealth offline in currencies that can access censorship resistant global networks https://www.theblockcrypto.…

• @ghostofnakadai @ghostofnakadai on x

  “some” banks is the keyword here. https://twitter.com/...

• @carnage4life @carnage4life on x

  As a consequence of sanctions against various Russian banks, their customers can no longer use Apple Pay or Google Pay with credit cards issued by these banks. In addition, their customers won't be able to use those credit cards abroad. https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

• @smorlosky Sofya Orlosky on x

  I hear multiple reports that ApplePay and GooglePay payments don't work not just in Russia, but in Ukraine. My contacts in Russia say that Visa and MasterCards work inconsistently even for ruble payments. Mir cards (Russia's own card system) work fine. https://www.businessinsider…

• @root_nomad @root_nomad on x

  The sanction nobody is talking about. Russian users who attempted to visit pornhub were quite literally cockblocked by a message that told them that the content has been stopped along with a Ukranian flag and message of Ukranian support #Ukraine #UkraineRussia #UkraineInvasion ht…

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  The failure to properly deal with ransomware actors has poisoned a lot of lawmakers and regulators against cryptocurrencies; a failure to stop massive sanction violations would bring a lot of normal citizens off the bench calling for onerous regulatory regimes.

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  Legitimate cryptocurrency companies need to be planning right now for what happens if Russia gets kicked off of SWIFT and turns to BTC and other, less monitored coins to prop up their economy and sell oil.

• @twobitidiot @twobitidiot on x

  When it comes to evading U.S. sanctions, Russia is almost certainly going to turn to digital assets. I'm talking about the yuan, of course. Crypto is a rounding error of a rounding error vs. what will likely be Russia's cozy embrace of the digital yuan.

• @davidfrum David Frum on x

  One lesson of these central bank sanctions is that crypto currencies work very well except in an emergency. All those doomsday scenarios the crypto bros talk about? You're going to want a big stack of physical Euros and paper dollars when the Internet crashes.

• @fredbenenson @fredbenenson on x

  Counterpoint: crypto has become so centralized that it might be impossible for Russia to convert to fiat while avoiding sanctions https://www.nbcnews.com/...

• @caseynewton Casey Newton on x

  One of the more unexpected entries in “web3 fixes this” https://twitter.com/...

• @dbreunig Drew Breunig on x

  So far there's two use cases that *requires* crypto, and that's laundering and ransomware.

• @dbreunig Drew Breunig on x

  This is why you shouldn't participate in projects that use crypto when they don't need to: your cool project creates liquidity and legitimacy for an off ramp for bad actors. https://twitter.com/...

• @alexhern @alexhern on x

  I like the idea that it is in any way a question whether cryptocurrencies will be used to violate sanctions, when it's as close to the reason for their existence as it is possible to get https://twitter.com/...

• @el33th4xor @el33th4xor on x

  “Virtual currencies are sometimes associated with lawlessness, but the reality is they've become a regulated business with safeguards against money laundering.” https://www.nbcnews.com/... via @nbcnews

• @neerajka Neeraj K. Agrawal on x

  western law enforcement has good visibility into the on and off ramps for cryptocurrency networks. they seem confident that they have the tools needed to tackle any russian attempts at sanctions evasion https://www.nbcnews.com/...

• @iskandrah Alexandra Halaby on x

  “Any Russian-owned companies the FCC identifies as potential security risks to the United States could face tougher scrutiny from regulators, including the potential risk of being ejected from the US market.” https://twitter.com/...

• @chadbown Chad P. Bown on x

  TSMC says it is fully committed to complying with new export controls after Taiwan's government said it would join global sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. (TSMC is the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer and dominates leading edge technologies.) https://www.reuters.com/..…

• @fedorovmykhailo @fedorovmykhailo on x

  I've contacted @tim_cook, Apple's CEO, to block the Apple Store for citizens of the Russian Federation, and to support the package of US government sanctions! If you agree to have the president-killer, then you will have to be satisfied with the only available site Russia 24. htt…

• @tim_cook Tim Cook on x

  I am deeply concerned with the situation in Ukraine. We're doing all we can for our teams there and will be supporting local humanitarian efforts. I am thinking of the people who are right now in harm's way and joining all those calling for peace.

• @markgurman Mark Gurman on x

  Apple operates an App Store and an online store with direct to consumer sales in Russia. Now, it's being urged by Ukraine to shut the Russian App Store and stop product sales in the country. https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @davidakaye David Kaye on x

  i very much sympathize with the instinct but wonder how cutting off russian citizens' access to the app store would affect their ability to communicate, protest, organize, use VPNs... https://twitter.com/...

• @jason @jason on x

  If you care deeply @tim_cook, perhaps you could start by having @apple stop supporting authoritarians with your devices? Or just stop selling iPhones in Russia until they leave Ukraine? https://www.wired.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @seldo Laurie Voss on x

  A polite reminder to say “Putin” when you mean Putin and not “Russia”, Russia is not a unit that wants or needs things, the people of Russia did not start an invasion of Ukraine.

• @jaffathecake Jake Archibald on x

  @seldo This is why I'm uncomfortable with the calls for Apple to ban the app store in Russia. Feels like the citizens need encrypted messaging more than ever.

• @jhall @jhall on x

  @FedorovMykhailo @tim_cook As an Apple product user for over 25 years and a shareholder for 15 years I fully encourage @tim_cook to act on this request. ✌️

• @isik5 Isik Mater on x

  @davidakaye @0xggus Yesterday more than 1300 people have been detained at anti-war protests in Russia. Restricting app store wouldn't help the situation.

• @davidakaye David Kaye on x

  @KiwiiForReal i get that, but this seems targeted in a way that could actually undermine the goal. you want to increase spaces for ppl to communicate grievance, not limit them.

• @jason @jason on x

  Day after my tweet, @Ukraine urges @tim_cook & @apple to stop selling products in Russia Perhaps all tech companies should lead the way & pause services in Russia until Putin leaves Ukraine? @Airbnb @uber @facebook @twitter @apple — everyone? https://www.bloomberg.com/... https:/…

• @thedarktangent Jeff Moss on x

  I've been talking about “app diplomacy” the past year or so where India bans Chinese apps from in retaliation for military border conflicts with China. This takes it to a whole new level! https://twitter.com/...

• @maxua Max Ischenko on x

  Can internet companies wage wars like nation states? Will they? Welcome to the 21st century warfare https://twitter.com/...

• @berniemoreno Bernie Moreno on x

  You run one of the most valuable companies on Earth. You were the only US tech company to comply with Russian demands to open an office in Moscow. Show leadership by closing that office, all @Apple stores, and deactivating all iPhones originating in Russia. Actions > Concerns. ht…

• @valueanalyst1 @valueanalyst1 on x

  @Archist42 ... if you're searching for words, here's a perfect example from Tim Cook: https://twitter.com/...

• @justinkan Justin Kan on x

  Apple, Google and Amazon should immediately shut off all internet infrastructure to Russia. That would be as powerful as any sanction. https://twitter.com/...

• @joannastern Joanna Stern on x

  Imagine explaining to someone in 1940-heck, even 1990-that blocking access to an App Store would be an ask of an international ally. https://twitter.com/...

• @dseetharaman Deepa Seetharaman on x

  Ukrainian officials are making this request in hopes of galvanizing Russian youth to protest the war. But @davidakaye's point here — that many of these apps *facilitate* the ability to organize— is key. https://twitter.com/...

• @jeffjarvis Jeff Jarvis on x

  Yes. Access for citizens is critical. https://twitter.com/...

• @patrickmcgee_ Patrick McGee on x

  Unfortunately the chances of Apple taking such action are virtually nil. Quickest way to kill its China business. Thoughts welcome. https://twitter.com/...

• @zacksjerryrig JerryRigEverything on x

  The most brutal sanctions ever: disabling the app store. Your move @tim_cook https://twitter.com/...

• @janrezab Jan Rezab on x

  OK, Facebook didn't have to block itself, Russia to ban Facebook, too much “censorship” by Facebook. Time for @google and @apple to make a move... https://www.linkedin.com/...

• @tommessett Tom Messett on x

  @janrezab ... Facebook and google are bit players in Russia, they have a strong local ecosystem so it makes little difference. Apple is more significant as it's a big player among the elites and, well, that's who need to get hurt

• @virushuo @virushuo on x

  He doesn't have the guts. You can ask the Chinese government to order him to do that, it would be easy and effective immediately, even faster than the request from US government. https://twitter.com/...

• @malwarejake Jake Williams on x

  After the butterfly keyboard disaster, I didn't think there was anything that could ever get me to buy another Mac, but I may have been premature. @tim_cook - the ball is in your court... https://twitter.com/...

• @davidakaye David Kaye on x

  i'd like to know how anti-war protesters in russia think this would affect them

• @sbemagx @sbemagx on x

  c'mon @apple, @tim_cook. as a life-long customer of a brand that purports to stand for more than just money, we're counting on you to do the right thing. https://twitter.com/...

• @jareddipane Jared DiPane on x

  @saschasegan @tim_cook Block iCloud access, no iMessage. That's what they need, don't stop at the App Store.

• @saschasegan Sascha C-Band on x

  This is what I was saying yesterday. @tim_cook should stand against Russia's criminal regime by making every oligarch's teenager's phone not work properly. The power of a whiny teen to affect their parents is quite significant. https://twitter.com/...

• @cat_zakrzewski Cat Zakrzewski on x

  A major test for Apple, as Ukraine calls on the company to stop providing products and services to Russia. Fedorov calls on the company to block the App Store. https://twitter.com/...

• @carnage4life @carnage4life on x

  Interested to see how Apple responds given their prior comfort with authoritarian governments. Would love to see how major tech companies are supporting Ukraine or standing up to the Russian government during this time. https://twitter.com/...

• @dseetharaman Deepa Seetharaman on x

  Ukraine is asking @tim_cook to “stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to the App Store.” Very, very curious what Apple does here and if the U.S. makes a similar appeal to the company. https://twitter.com/...