US asks Japan to help cut crypto miners’ links with Russia: FT 

The US asked Japan to increase pressure on its cryptocurrency exchanges and miners to sever ties with Russia amid the Ukraine conflict, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. 

The US asked Tokyo specifically to stop its companies' cryptocurrency mining operations in the Irkutsk region in Siberia, two people familiar told the FT.  

The area is favored for crypto mining operations because of its low temperatures and cheap hydroelectric power.  

Japan’s Financial Services Agency renewed its demands that the Japanese exchanges they oversee cease any such relationships, people close to three exchanges told the FT. 

Some Japanese exchanges and crypto mining businesses have developed complex networks of subsidiaries to continue their Russian operations, people close to the situation said.