Bitcoin-friendly startup Revolut pulls out of the Russian market

The British fintech startup Revolut has declined to enter the Russian market. This was stated by the company’s founder, Nikolai Storonsky, in an interview with businessman Oleg Tinkov.

Storonsky said the decision reflected a change in priorities. At the same time, the company will continue to expand its business in six countries, including India and China.

Offices opened in 2019 in Moscow and Saint Petersburg will be involved in supporting the company’s business and are not linked to any entry into the Russian market.

“The company is profitable, even quite profitable,” added Nikolai Storonsky.

He estimated that annual revenue had tripled, the number of customers had doubled to 20 million. Revolut is used by 8-9 million people each month.

Storonsky valued Revolut at between $16.5 billion and $22 billion. Last year, the figure stood at $5.5 billion.

Founded in 2015 by former Credit Suisse trader Nikolai Storonsky and former Deutsche Bank development specialist Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut offers cards with multi-currency accounts and provides currency conversion services without bank fees.

The Revolut app allows exchanging fiat money into Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP and Stellar.

In February 2020, Revolut abandoned plans to enter the Russian market for an indefinite period, choosing to focus on Asian and North American markets.

In March of the same year, the startup entered the US market, and in September opened access to cryptocurrency trading Australian users.

In October, the startup showed interest in obtaining a banking licence in the United States.

In December 2020, Revolut added to its banking app support for additional cryptocurrencies: EOS, OMG Network, 0x and Tezos.

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