Binance exchange still serves some Russian customers despite announcing a complete withdrawal from Russia by 2023.

“We continue to serve a limited number of existing Russian users to ensure their digital assets remain safe and secure,” a Binance spokesperson said on September 25.

A Binance representative stressed that the exchange “complies with global sanctions regulations” and “fully complies with restrictions on individuals, organizations, and countries subject to international sanctions.”

Operating in Russia “Does Not Fit Binance’s Compliance Strategy”

The announcement comes a year after Binance completed its full exit from the Russian market by selling its local operations to a new exchange called CommEx. In a statement on September 27, 2023, the companies did not disclose financial details of the deal.

At the time, Binance's chief compliance officer Noah Perlman stated there was no way for the company to continue operating in Russia while remaining in compliance.

“As we look to the future, we recognize that operating in Russia does not align with Binance’s compliance strategy.”

In a new statement, Binance reiterated that compliance “remains a top priority” and that its goal is to establish “industry-leading compliance programs, effectively cooperating with law enforcement around the world.”

CommEx to cease operations in April 2024

A few months after migrating Binance Russian users to its platform, CommEx officially announced that it will cease operations completely in April 2024.

The exchange was largely unknown before Binance left Russia and has never disclosed any details about its founders or key executives. While CommEx has denied any direct connection to Binance, it has admitted that the team includes several former Binance Russia employees.

While Binance announced the end of its Russian operations last year, the exchange’s Russian user community has remained active on social media since the announcement of its departure.

Binance’s Russian-language news channel on Telegram has around 130,000 subscribers. Binance continues to share updates on new token listings on Binance Launchpool despite informing Russian users that they can no longer trade on the platform.

“Access to Binance P2P for citizens of the Russian Federation residing outside the Russian Federation and having confirmed this through proof of address will not change,” the channel said in a post in January 2024.

Russia has been a major market for Binance over the past year

Since Binance announced its withdrawal from Russia, traffic to their local website has dropped significantly.

According to data shared by web analytics platform SimilarWeb, Binance's website traffic in Russia dropped by 43% from August 2023 to July 2024.

Despite the significant drop, Russia remains one of the largest sources of traffic to Binance’s website, accounting for 6% of total visits.

Russia's traffic share is comparable to other major markets on Binance, including Türkiye and Vietnam, which account for 8% and 6.6% of total traffic, respectively.

Binance declined to say whether its significant traffic share in Russia or certain services for Russian users meant it would continue to operate in the market. A company spokesperson stated:

“That just means we will continue to serve the limited number of Russian users we have now. And we will keep the community informed about future plans.”

The news comes after Binance CEO Richard Teng announced the exchange had surpassed $100 trillion in all-time trading volume in September.

Former Binance CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao is expected to be released from prison in the United States on September 29.