Binance weighs potential exit from Russia

The cryptocurrency exchange Binance is examining potential paths for developing its business in Russia, including a full exit from the jurisdiction. This is according to WSJ.

“All options are under review, including a full exit,” the platform’s representatives said.

Recently the trading platforms Binance, Bybit and OKX removed from their P2P platforms banks under US sanctions — Sberbank, Tinkoff and Alfa. The first also banned Russians from exchanging operations with any fiat currencies other than the ruble.

Despite the restrictions, merchants under the deal replace the names of sanctioned banks with “Yellow”, “Green”, “Yellow Oleg” and others.

The refusal to service Russian citizens could extend to all other crypto exchanges. One of the ForkLog experts surveyed proposed considering blocking the platforms that impose restrictions in Russia.

Earlier, Binance circumvented the ban on serving users in Belgium through a Polish agreement.

In early May, media reported that the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating the parent company — Binance Holdings Ltd. — for possible sanctions violations against Russia.

In March, a lawsuit was filed against the exchange by the CFTC. It also alleges that the exchange’s customer support “teaches people how to evade sanctions”.