Though it said to be leaving the Russian market in 2023, Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange worldwide, is offering services to a small number of Russian consumers. According to a Binance spokesman, the business still helps these individuals to guarantee that their digital assets are safe and secure. This especially holds true as Binance stresses its dedication to follow international sanctions and regulatory compliance.
Binance formally stopped its operations in Russia in 2023 when it sold its local company to a new exchange called CommEx. Noah Perlman, the Chief Compliance Officer of Binance at the time, said that the choice was required because of the conflict between running in Russia and the company’s policies. Though Binance did not reveal the financial specifics of the trade, its action showed its will to follow international sanctions, especially given the Russia-Ukraine war.
Binance has admitted the difficulty of completely leaving such a big market, even though they intended to do. One of Binance’s main user bases has been Russia; the business keeps a small number of current users to safeguard their digital assets during the change. With 130,000 members, Binance’s Russian-language Telegram channel is also active and shares updates even with trading limitations for Russian users.
In a surprising turn of events, the exchange CommEx, which took over Binance’s Russian operations, has just declared intentions to close by April 2024. Although CommEx denies direct links to Binance, some former Binance Russia staff members have joined the firm. This development tracks increasing examination of any transgressions of international sanctions and limitations imposed on Russia resulting from geopolitical concerns.
Russia is still one of the biggest markets for the exchange even although Russian web traffic to Binance—aa 43% reduction from August 2023 to July 2024—is drastically declining. Russian users still account for 6% of Binance’s overall website views, therefore highlighting the continuing presence of the exchange in the area. Binance has instead emphasized that it only serves a small number of customers to protect their assets, refuting comments on whether this traffic implies continuous operations in Russia.
Maintaining its users’ interests first, Binance is dedicated to complete compliance with international sanctions going ahead. According to the exchange, any upcoming developments on its availability in the Russian market will be communicated to the public.
