On August 28, it was reported that Binance may withdraw from the Russian market due to controversy in the region.

The newspaper quoted a Binance representative as saying, “All options are under consideration, including a full exit.”

The news of the possible exit from Russia was also announced along with an update to the company’s Russian Telegram channel, announcing several new rules for users of the P2P exchange. Binance said that Russian users can now only trade in ruble (RUB) fiat currency on the P2P platform, and that this option is limited to users who reside in Russia and have undergone KYC verification.

Additionally, the new rules stipulate that users living outside of Russia can no longer trade rubles on P2P exchanges, and these users are also prohibited from trading with euros (EUR), U.S. dollars (USD), and Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH).

The ruble no longer appears to be an option for non-Russian users. When accessing Binance’s P2P platform without a US account, the ruble is not listed as an option. Despite this, the platform lists a Russian trader who relies on non-ruble currencies at a foreign bank.

Binance’s Russia controversy continues

Binance previously attracted controversy for providing support for certain sanctioned Russian banks on its P2P platform. The company removed five of these banks on August 25, but continued to provide support for various other Russian payment options. At the time, about 16 banks and payment channels were listed.

Another report on August 22nd revealed that Russian users conducted $428 million in transactions on Binance P2P exchanges between October and March. The report also stated that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating Binance for possible sanctions violations, which is consistent with an earlier report in May.

The current dispute primarily concerns Binance’s P2P exchange, rather than its main exchange. Binance imposed account restrictions on its main exchange in April 2022 to comply with sanctions against Russia; it has since lifted those restrictions without controversy. #币安  #俄罗斯