This move comes after Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, called on cryptocurrency exchanges to deny Russian list addresses. For fear of being identified with a sanctioned country, the Blockchain gaming and metaverse behemoth stated it wished to avoid being “financially excluded.”

It’s unclear whether the firm will prohibit sales of SAND, a utility token used in Animoca’s subsidiary The Sandbox’s metaverse. On Tuesday, Animoca Brands, a blockchain gaming and metaverse company, chose to terminate links with its Russian users, citing sanctions imposed by Western nations in response to the invasion of Ukraine as grounds.

According to a Bloomberg story, Animoca will prohibit users and restrict access to its shares from the former Soviet Union. Ukraine’s digital transformation minister encouraged cryptocurrency exchanges to block addresses belonging to Russian users in a tweet Sunday morning.

Also, read – Top 10 Play-to-Earn (P2E) Games Changing the Face of the Gaming Industry

Crypto companies have been debating whether or not to comply with the minister’s request; however, most have decided against it. Animoca, the bloockchain gaming on the other hand, has become one of the few companies in the business to do so.

 It’s unclear whether the firm will try to stop people from buying SAND, a utility token used in Animoca’s subsidiary The Sandbox’s metaverse. Animoca did not react to Blockworks’ request for comment right away. Following weeks of US intelligence warnings, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized Russian forces to move into Ukrainian territory on February 24. Most of the Western world quickly criticized the invasion, and key Russian banks, oligarchs, and businesses were permitted.

 Russian financial institutions’ have permitted the SWIFT interbank settlement system, limiting their capacity to operate efficiently inside the global financial system. Animoca co-founder Yat Siu stated in an interview with Bloomberg published that the company’s move would likely affect subsidiaries such as Blockchain gaming fitness company Lympo, albeit the impact would be minimal given the limited population of Russian customers.

Financial risk excluded from the banking system if we continue to do business in those locations.” “We’ve received legal advice that we now need to implement some restrictions,” Siu added. “It’s a sanctioned country on par with North Korea in terms of sanctions.”

 Animoca, based in Hong Kong, was created in 2011 to produce and publish mobile games and apps. According to data provider Pitchbook, the company, which has subsequently expanded into blockchain and artificial intelligence, has collected a total of $627.7 million in funding.

 In January, Liberty City Ventures, Delta Blockchain Fund, and 10T Holdings, among others, invested $358.89 million in the company, bringing its pre-money worth to $5.44 billion. It had doubled from a private equity purchase at $267.8 million in October when Animoca was at $2.2 billion.