Binance Quietly Lifts Restrictions on Russians

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency by trading volume, has quietly lifted its service restrictions for Russian users that were implemented last year following the breakout of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Is Binance Going against the EU?

According to a report by Forklog, Binance users in Russia can deposit Russian rubles, euros, British pounds, and other currencies using bank cards issued in Russia. Additionally, the exchange removed the limits on balances of more than EUR 10,000 on Russia-linked accounts.

Previously, Binance halted the deposit transactions using Visa and Mastercard issued in Russia and any card transactions initiated in Russia last year in March. These bans came as Europe and the US imposed heavy financial restrictions on Russia, even cutting the country’s financial sector from the inter-banking messaging platform SWIFT.

The sanctions against Russia were extended to cryptocurrencies when, in August 2022, the European Union imposed a crypto wallet cap of EUR 10,000 on Russian accounts. Later, these sanctions were broadened to a crypto payment ban, eliminating Russians from using any crypto service registered in the EU.

Crypto platforms, including Binance, adhered to the EU sanctions and were quick enough to impose limitations on the accounts of Russian citizens and residents. These sanctions were still in place, but Binance looks to have lifted them without a public announcement.

“All current restrictions related to sanctions against Russian nationals are applied by the platform and its legal entities in the European Union in full,” a Binance spokesperson told crypto news outlet Coindesk, without confirming or denying the removal of the limitations. However, the spokesperson confirmed that restrictions on peer-to-peer (p2p) trades in dollars and euros for Russians, who can only use the service for the Russian ruble.

Troubles in Binance

Regulators worldwide were issuing warnings against Binance a couple of years ago for non-compliance that forced the exchange to re-strategize its expansion plans and seek licenses. However, the troubles for the exchange look to be far from over.

The US commodities market regulators brought a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO for various compliance violations. It even called the exchange’s compliance measures a ‘sham’. Meanwhile, the Australian financial market regulator canceled Binance’s local license after a month of investigating regulatory requirements for the exchange’s derivatives business.