TL;DR Breakdown:
- Binance will start limiting services for Russian users with over $10,900 balance and without proof-of-address verification.
- This is in response to the EU’s fifth package of restrictive measures against Russia.
Leading crypto exchange Binance announced Thursday it would start limiting its services for Russians amid the fifth package of restrictive measures against the country by the European Union.
Binance places more restrictions on Russians
Russian nationals or natural persons and entities residing in Russia with at least 10,000 EUR (or $10,924) balance will be subjected to a “withdrawal-only mode” on “spot, futures, custody wallets, and staked and earned deposits.” They are also given 90 days to close open Futures/Derivatives positions and cannot open new ones.
Per Binance, those abroad with verified proof of address will remain unaffected and active, but they must maintain a balance below $10,924.
While these measures are potentially restrictive to normal Russian citizens, Binance must continue to lead the industry in implementing these sanctions. We believe all other major exchanges must follow the same rules soon.
Crypto exchange, Binance.
Strictly against sanction evasion
A month ago, several cryptocurrency exchanges had to limit certain services to Russian users in compliance with the sanctions pronounced against the country in their tussle with Ukraine. While some exchanges outrightly blocked Russian IPs as seen in Korea, Binance, Coinbase, and other major exchanges viewed such action as being “unethical” but opted to monitor and ban flagged accounts to counter sanction evasion through crypto.
On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury pronounced several sanctions against the holding company of Bitcoin miner BitRiver, and dozens of people and entities amid their plans to evade sanctions. According to Al Jazeera, BitRiver’s holding company and 10 of its Russia-based subsidiaries were sanctioned as part of US efforts to ensure that “no asset becomes a mechanism for Russian President Vladimir Putin to offset the impact of sanctions.”
Recent reports held that Russian elites are trying to use Bitcoin to evade the sanctions, with Glassnode reporting that Russian Bitcoin accounts grew from 39.9 million to 40.7 million since the February invasion.
