Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is set to exit the Russian crypto market. The crypto giant is selling its local business to fellow crypto exchange CommEX, for an undisclosed sum. Binance’s departure from Russia comes months after the exchange was accused of violating sanctions imposed on the country.
According to a press release by Binance, the crypto giant has entered into an agreement to sell all its Russian assets to local crypto exchange CommEX. Users of Binance’s Russian arm will be off-boarded from the exchange and guided to CommEX. The exchange stated that the off-boarding process is expected to take up to one year.
“As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance’s compliance strategy. We remain confident in the long-term growth of the web3 industry around the world and will focus our energy on the 100+ other countries in which we operate,” stated Noah Perlman, Binance’s Chief Compliance Officer.
Binance added that all assets of its existing Russian users were safe and securely protected. The exchange will collaborate with CommEX to inform the users about their migration and that of their assets in the coming days. A portion of Binance Russia’s users who have completed the KYC formalities of their new user registration will be redirected to CommEX immediately.
Over the coming months, Binance will reportedly wind down all exchange services and business activities in Russia. While the financial details of the CommEX deal remain undisclosed, Binance told its users that the sale would mark its full exit from Russia. The crypto exchange clarified that it will not maintain any option to buy shares in the business.
Binance’s departure from the Russian crypto market comes months after the United States Department of Justice revealed that it was investigating potential violations of sanctions imposed on Russia following the conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, recent market data showed that the monthly trading volume of Russian Rubles (RUB) on the Binance Exchange had declined more than 83% in the past two years.