Binance Exits Russia, Market ‘Not Compatible’ with Compliance Strategy

The world’s largest crypto exchange is exiting the region through unit sale to CommEX for undisclosed terms.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has entered into an agreement to sell its entire Russia business to CommEX, a venture capitalist-backed crypto exchange that launched on Tuesday.

Financial terms of the agreement, which will mark Binance’s full exit from Russia, weren’t disclosed, according to an announcement post.

“As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance’s compliance strategy,” said Noah Perlman, Binance’s chief compliance officer, in the post.

The companies will work together to inform users about how to migrate their assets. The off-boarding process could take up to a year as Binance gradually sunsets all its exchange services and business lines in Russia.

In March 2022, Binance announced it wouldn’t support deposits from Visa and Mastercard cards issued in Russia or cards where deposits were made in Russia.

The move had followed European Union sanctions placed on Russia after the attack on Ukraine. Binance had only  lifted those restrictions in April of this year.