Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, announced that it is exiting Russia, selling that portion of its business to CommEX. The decision to sell the entirety of the exchange's Russian business was due to the fact that "operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance's compliance strategy," according to Binance Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman. Binance will continue to focus on the more than 100 other countries in which it operates.
On Sept. 27, Binance said that off-boarding Russian users from its platform will take up to one year to ensure the process is smooth. Binance and CommEX will provide information to existing users about how to move their assets to CommEX. Binance emphasized that it is "fully" withdrawing from Russia and will not get a revenue split from the sale or maintain the option to buy back shares.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance's CEO and founder, said that Russian users "will continue to enjoy a 25% trading fee discount" for the token BNB.
This announcement comes a month after Binance removed multiple sanctioned Russian banks, including Rosbank and Tinkoff Bank, from its peer-to-peer trading platform. Binance strives to enforce sanctions on "blacklisted" individuals and groups by blocking them from its platform. The exchange aims to diligently comply with global sanctions rules and denies access to individuals, organizations, entities, and countries that have been blacklisted by the international community.
Binance's exit from Russia highlights its commitment to compliance and its focus on operating in countries where it can align with regulatory standards. The cryptocurrency exchange will continue to provide its services to users in over 100 other countries.