Binance warns Russians to withdraw funds
The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance has sent out last-call notifications urging its Russian users to complete the off-boarding process and to withdraw their money from the platform by December 29, RBK daily reported on Thursday.
The exchange is warning that all existing ruble deposits will be gradually shut down after the deadline expires and advised Russian cryptocurrency users to transfer their accounts and pull out their funds from Binance and into recently-launched exchange CommEX or to any other crypto platform.
Binance’s technical support explained to RBK that notifications were sent to users whose “location is temporarily or permanently determined [to be] on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
The crypto exchange said in November that it will stop providing Russian ruble deposits as it prepares to leave the sanctioned country’s market.
Binance’s decision to sell its Russia business, to comply with Western sanctions, was revealed in September. CommEX was announced as the buyer of Binance’s Russian operations for an undisclosed sum, as the exchange planned to gradually pull its services in the country over several months.
The move came amid reports of a US Department of Justice inquiry into whether Russian customers could access the exchange, potentially violating US sanctions.
Russian citizens have increasingly turned to using crypto exchanges after Western restrictions cut off Russian banks from global payment networks.
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