The global crypto exchange company garnered popularity among Russians when Western sanctions isolated Russian banks from global payment networks.
The company’s recently implemented policy effectively barred Russian users from trading in any currency other than the Russian ruble and prohibited Russians living abroad from engaging in ruble, euro, U.S. dollar, and Ukrainian hryvnia trades on the peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange, while ruble trading has been revoked for non-Russian users.
Bloomberg reported that earlier this year the U.S. Justice Department initiated an inquiry into whether Binance was enabling Russians to evade U.S. sanctions imposed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Utilizing a P2P service, Binance's exchange platform functions as a decentralized platform where two users directly connect without requiring intermediaries. This means that buyers and sellers interact directly, using services such as search, screening, rating, payment processing, or escrow.
Subsequent to international sanctions, Binance reportedly halted the acceptance of deposits from Visa and Mastercard cards issued in Russia in March 2022. However, restrictions were lifted in April this year, enabling Russian users to deposit rubles, euros, British pounds, and other currencies onto the platform using bank cards issued in Russia.
According to the report, the company is currently contemplating withdrawal from Russia due to potential regulatory challenges that may arise in the U.S.
"All options are on the table, including a complete exit," the company's spokesperson told WSJ.
Following in the footsteps of Binance, other renowned cryptocurrency exchange platforms, including Bybit and OKX, have also eliminated certain Russian banks, namely Tinkoff Bank and Sberbank, from their roster of payment options, as noted by the Russian business news outlet vc.ru.
