Cryptocurrency exchange Binance may be considering withdrawing its services from Russia amid sanctions from countries including the United States.
According to an Aug. 28 report from The Wall Street Journal, a Binance spokesperson said the exchange was considering all options in regard to Russia, “including a full exit.” The report followed Binance removing certain sanctioned Russian financial institutions from available payment options on its peer-to-peer platform and adding fiat currency restrictions for Russia-based users.
Bybit and OKX followed Binance by excluding certain Russian banks from their lists of P2P platforms for payment options. Russia’s central bank also announced in August it planned to begin testing operations with digital rubles, with the aim of having them in widespread use by 2027.
Related: Binance dubs barred Russian banks on its platform as ‘Yellow’ and ‘Green’ cards
A global exchange without a brick-and-mortar headquarters, Binance operates in many countries but has received pushback from authorities in regards to its activities in Russia. In the United States, Binance, Binance.US, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao face a lawsuit filed in June by the Securities and Exchange Commission for unregistered securities offering, and the Justice Department was reportedly investigating the global exchange for potential violations of U.S. sanctions in effect shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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