A Russian Blockchain music startup SoundChain found its entire investment cache frozen after Poloniex exchange began sporadically suspending service to users from countries subject to sanctions or other embargoes by the US, The Cointelegraph reports.
“We came across a problem with withdrawal of our project funds allocated on our financial director's account from Poloniex exchange. As a result, our operational activity can be frozen soon, as far as we're not allowed to withdraw funds from Poloniex exchange for uncertain reasons,” SoundChain CEO Artyom Abaev told.
He tried to resolve the issue via Poloniex customer support channels but they never replied.
Poloniex’s lack of support has been reported since May and since then became a frequentl topic of discussion on social media.
The exchange does not refuse service to Russian citizens altogether, however its terms now suggest that individuals could face problems in the event of additional sanctions from the US.
The U.S. sanctions against Russia were imposed in 2014 because of Russia’s involvement into Ukrainian conflict.