The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance has left the Russian market today. According to a blog post, the exchange made the decision as a result of regulatory issues. Consequently, Binance sold its Russian unit to a day-old firm identified as CommEX.
According to findings, CommEX officially launched on Tuesday, but it listed BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT trading pairs for spot trading in July. More so, CommEX on its X (formerly Twitter) announced the acquisition of the unit. Per the post, the firm announced that “its “new users from Russia and around the world.”
Meanwhile, Binance won’t receive a penny from the takeover. Also, the crypto exchange won’t retain any clause to buy back shares in the company. Now, CommEX will focus on the off-boarding process following the takeover. This process according to the announcement will be orderly for the migration of users.
To ensure the transition, Binance and CommEX will collaborate. This partnership will help educate users on how to migrate their assets to CommEX. To migrate their assets, users must fulfill certain KYC procedures that are in line with the regulatory practices in Russia. Following the takeover, Binance will halt all exchange services and business lines in the country.
Throughout the transition, Binance will assist CommEX to ensure that all users’ assets are safe. Additionally, CommEX announced that it will not onboard users from the United States and European Union. This limitation will as well extend users in some selected jurisdictions.
Background to the exit of Binance from the Russian crypto markets
The crypto exchange has been facing issues regarding its operations in Russia since the start of the year. Recall that early this year, the Department of Justice commenced investigations into the activities of Binance in Russia. The investigation attempted to unravel if Binance violated the conditions of the economic restrictions placed on Russia over its war with Ukraine.
Further, the Department of Justice investigated if Binance allowed users in Russia to use the exchange. Before then, the exchange had been the subject of investigation by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. In 2021, the two departments carried out a joint investigation against the exchange.
Controversies have been trailing the world’s largest crypto exchange for a while now. Early this month, Israeli authorities seized about 190 Binance accounts. The authorities alleged that these accounts have ties to terrorist groups, including ISIS.