Binance, world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has sold its business in Russia to a new venue launched just a day earlier.
Binance announced on Wednesday that it will cease all business and exchange operations in the country within the next few months, and sell its assets to CommEX for an unspecified sum.
It added that it would not be able to retain any revenue share or buyback option after this point, “unlike deals similar to those made by international companies in Russia”.
Two months ago, the exchange denied reports that it helped customers transfer funds from sanctioned Russian banks to other countries.
Noah Perlman is the chief compliance officer of Binance. He said: “As we look to the future, it’s clear that operating in Russia does not fit with Binance’s compliance strategy.”
The asset was bought by CommEX which launched on Tuesday. The website of CommEX has little information about the company’s background, but it does say that they are backed by a “top-tier crypto venture capital” (VC) which is not named.
Binance, a crypto exchange, has become the main way for Russians to transfer money between countries. Many of them still work for Russian firms or rent property in Russia. Many Russian banks are no longer connected to international payment systems.
Binance, unlike some US-based platforms has only introduced a few restrictions to its Russian clients. These include a ban on direct exchanges of the rouble into dollars or euro, but Binance allows them to otherwise use the exchange without restriction. The firm lifted the €10,000 cap on assets that Russians could have in their account, which had been imposed one year ago.
Changpeng Zhao said Binance’s BNB coin holders would be entitled to a 25% trading fee reduction on CommEX. Binance stated that moving Russian Binance users over to the new venue could take up to one year. “All assets of existing Russian users will be safe and secure”, Binance added.
The Russian crypto community has speculated about the identity of the buyer due to the opaqueness.
Binance is still the largest crypto exchange in the world, despite a declining market share due to regulatory investigations.
Zhao’s firm faces lawsuits by the biggest US regulators, alleging that it illegally accessed US clients, violated securities law and mixed billions in customer cash through a separate entity.
The company has described a Commodity Futures Trading Commission suit as “unexpected” and “disappointing”. The firm said that it was disheartened and disappointed by a separate suit filed the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its US affiliate described the lawsuit as “baseless”.