cryptonews.com
Digital asset exchange Binance has announced a discontinuation of the Russian Ruble trading pairs on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms from Jan 31, 2024.
In a Dec 11 official announcement, the company disclosed that it would no longer support the Russian Ruble trading pairs for digital assets after the firm marked an exit from the country following wider regulatory and compliance concerns.
“Fellow Binancians. Following the decision of exiting Russia with sale to CommEX, Binance P2P will no longer support the Russian Ruble (RUB) trading pairs, i.e., USDT/RUB, BTC/RUB, FDUSD/RUB, BNB/RUB, ETH/RUB, BUSD/RUB and RUB/RUB P2P trading pairs, starting from 2024-01-31 00:00 (UTC).
Users are expected to continue trading with the Russian Ruble on the CommEx platform and can connect the accounts to a corresponding Binance account to transfer assets held on Binance to CommEX following the market exit.
On the other hand, users can also opt to convert RUB for crypto via the spot market or withdraw the assets directly through fiat partners before the deadline on Jan 31.
This move comes after Binance announced a full exit from the Russian market in September with a sale to CommEX.
Binance’s Russian debacle
The decision to exit the Russian market lingered for weeks in industry spaces as several analysts predicted the same due to compliance issues with financial institutions in the country over sanctions on the heels of the Ukraine invasion.
In August, the Wall Street Journal reported that the exchange helps Russia bypass sanctions imposed by several Western countries through high ruble trading volumes on its P2P platform.
Specifically, the report noted that the world’s largest exchange offers its P2P services with the Rosbank and Tinkoff Bank, two institutions that come under the sanctions imposed by the United States.
Binance denied any partnership with the banks adding that P2P services are prohibited to all users with the exchange and other competitors delisting the banks subsequently.
According to several commentators, the investigation into Binance’s global regulatory compliance led some executives out of the company and sparked wider market concerns.
🤯⚡️ Beleaguered Binance Loses Another Chief Executive From its UK Office – What’s Going On?@binance’s UK chief, Jonathan Farnell, has resigned from the company, adding to a slew of executive departures in recent times.#CryptoNews #UKhttps://t.co/nxbthUyQ2o
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) October 25, 2023
Full exit from Moscow
The exchange announced a full exit from the Russian market on Sept 27 with a sale to CommEx citing a compliance strategy.
“As we look toward the future, we recognize 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.”
Per the release, it unveiled plans for a smooth migration of user assets to the exchange adding that the company will have no revenue splits with CommEX or buy shares in the business as it looks forward to other markets.