Binance to Fully Exit Russian Market, Sells Business to CommEX Over Compliance Concerns
Crypto News – On Wednesday, Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, revealed its decision to completely withdraw its operations from Russia by selling its entire business in the country to CommEX. This move is motivated by compliance concerns within the Russian market.
Noah Perlman, Binance’s chief compliance officer, stated in a press release, “As we anticipate the future, we acknowledge that conducting operations in Russia is not aligned with Binance’s compliance strategy.”
CommEX appears to be a cryptocurrency exchange that was formally launched on Tuesday. Notably, it had previously initiated spot trading for BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT trading pairs in July. On its social media account, CommEX welcomed its “new users from Russia and around the world” on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, reports surfaced suggesting that Binance was under investigation by the Department of Justice concerning whether Russian customers were able to access the exchange in violation of U.S. sanctions linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In response, in August, Binance announced the severance of its ties with sanctioned Russian banks.
Binance confirmed on Wednesday that with the sale, it will completely exit the Russian market, stating, “Binance will gradually phase out all exchange services and business operations in Russia” in the coming months.
In a notable departure from similar deals involving international companies in Russia, Binance clarified that there would be no ongoing revenue split resulting from the sale, and the company will not retain an option to repurchase shares in the business.
CommEX also declared that it will not onboard customers from the U.S, EU, and certain other jurisdictions. The off-boarding process for existing Russian users is projected to span up to one year, during which their assets will be ensured to be “safe and protected,” as assured by the firm.
Leave a comment