NewsRescue
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is considering a complete withdrawal from the Russian market.
The possible move could be in response to regulatory issues that Binance is now encountering in the country.
“All options are on the table, including a full exit,” a corporate spokesperson told the US daily, without elaborating.
The announcement follows Binance’s previous announcement that Russian users can now trade on the P2P (peer-to-peer) network in fiat currency solely in rubles. Local customers who have passed Binance’s ‘know your customer’ (KYC) check are not eligible for this option.
The new regulations also prohibit Russian users who live outside the nation from trading on the P2P exchange in the ruble, euro, US dollar, and Ukrainian hryvnia. Furthermore, non-Russian users no longer have the option of using rubles.
Binance ceased accepting deposits from Visa and Mastercard cards issued in Russia in March 2022 because to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.
In March of this year, the crypto exchange imposed new limitations on Russian users, prohibiting them from using P2P to purchase and sell US dollars and euros. It then prohibited EU-based customers from transferring Russian rubles over the platform and imposed restrictions on Russian accounts with crypto assets worth more than €10,000 ($11,000).
However, the limitations were lifted in April, and Russian customers were once again able to deposit rubles, euros, British pounds, and other currencies onto the platform using Russian bank cards.