Binance continues to serve Russian customers amid global sanctions

Despite its announced exit from Russia in 2023, cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues to serve a limited number of Russian customers.

“We continue to serve a limited number of existing Russian users to ensure their digital assets remain safe and secure,” a Binance representative told Cointelegraph, while emphasizing that the company adheres to global sanctions and complies with international regulations.

Binance officially left the Russian market in September 2023 and sold its operations to a new platform called CommEx. At the time, Binance’s chief compliance officer Noah Perlman noted that continuing operations in Russia conflicted with Binance’s compliance strategy.

Despite the exit, however, Binance’s presence in the Russian market remained notable, with its Russian-language Telegram channel continuing to provide updates to its 130,000 subscribers even after Russian users were informed they could no longer trade on the platform.

CommEx Ceases Operations

CommEx, the exchange that took over Binance’s Russian users, announced it would be shutting down operations in April 2024. While CommEx has denied having any direct ties to Binance, it acknowledged that some of its team members were former Binance Russia employees.

The decision to close comes after CommEX launched in September 2023, having taken over Binance’s Russian business amid growing scrutiny from the United States over potential violations of sanctions related to the war against Russia. The move also followed a broader trend of Russian citizens turning to crypto exchanges due to Western sanctions affecting Russian banks' access to global payment networks following the invasion of Ukraine.