Cryptocurrency trading platforms, one after another, limit Russian clients. However, not everyone does this. We publish the complete list.
The US Treasury Department and the European Central Bank announced in early April that sanctions against the Russian economy would be useless unless access to cryptocurrency platforms was cut off from the world market.
The American crypto exchange Coinbase said it would comply with the requirements of the White House and blocked 25,000 customer addresses from Russia. In mid-April, the London-based EXMO exchange announced that it had sold the Russian part of the business. On April 21, the largest exchange in the world, Binance, left Russian users with an upper limit of €10,000 in assets and the ability to withdraw assets.
Although at the end of February, representatives of crypto-exchanges, despite calls to block Russian accounts, stated that they would not block everyone in a row. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao literally stated:
“Sanctions affect only the top of the Russian government, the military and law enforcement agencies. We believe that companies cannot simply take and freeze users’ assets. We should follow the sanctions lists, not come up with our own sanctions.”
It may seem that by the end of spring all major sites began to follow the instructions of European or American officials, but in reality this is not the case.
We at Bits.media have compiled a list of sites that have outlined their position on working with Russians. The selection takes into account the trading volume for the last 24 hours and the platform rating:
1. Binance (₽1,355.753 billion trading volume per day; 9.9 exchange assessment on CoinMarketCap) – in early March, a company registered in the Cayman Islands, on its own initiative, banned Russians from using Visa and Mastercard cards for depositing and withdrawing funds. Now there is a trading restriction for users with assets of more than €10,000, only allowing withdrawals to other addresses.
2. FTX (₽156 billion; 8.3) – at the end of February, the American crypto exchange warned that users from Russia who fell under sanctions would be immediately blocked. Currently, the exchange is working with the Russians, but the company is actively cooperating with US regulators and continues to discuss the issue of blocking.
3. Coinbase (₽211 billion; 8.4) – the largest US crypto exchange blocked about 25,000 accounts from Russia associated with legal entities or individuals that fell under sanctions. The exchange said it plans to continue to adhere to the policy of compliance with restrictions.
4. KuCoin (₽202 billion; 7.6) – CEO of the Hong Kong crypto exchange Johnny Liu said that the platform is neutral and operates within the legal framework of the Seychelles. Without the requirement of local law, the platform is not going to block users of any other country.
5. Bitfinex (₽45 billion; 7.2) – Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer of a subsidiary of the world’s largest stablecoin provider Tether, said that the company would not unilaterally block users from Russia.
6. Gemini (₽9 billion; 6.9) – the New York-based company does not give an unequivocal answer to the question of working with Russians, but emphasizes that it is located in the jurisdictions of the United States and Great Britain and will have to comply with the requirements of the legislators of these countries. The exchange does not officially work in Ukraine and Russia.
7. Bitstamp (₽22 billion; 6.8) – The Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange, in a commentary for Verdict, stated that it was cooperating with all regulatory authorities and complying with all sanctions, but the company did not observe any increased activity from Russia. At the moment, registration on the exchange is available for Russians.
8. Bithumb (₽65 billion; 6.4) – in early March, the South Korean crypto exchange began blocking the IP addresses of Russian users, supporting the sanctions imposed by the South Korean government. Such popular South Korean crypto exchanges as Upbit, Gopax, Korbit and Coinone joined the restrictions.
9. OKX (₽283 billion; 6.5), a crypto exchange registered in the Seychelles, at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, together with Binance, opposed the wholesale blocking of Russian users, although over the past month the company has not commented on its attitude towards sanctions. Now Russians can freely register and trade on the stock exchange.
10. Huobi Global (₽179 billion; 7.3) – The Chinese exchange continues to serve Russian clients and has not announced any policy changes.
11. EXMO (₽8 billion; 4.5) – despite the sale of part of the Russian business, the company opposes blocking all residents of Russia. The co-founder of the exchange, Ivan Petukhovsky, said that this is contrary to the basic principles of the crypto industry. However, the exchange intends to comply with the restrictions if required by law.
12. Kraken (₽60bn; 7.8) – At the end of February, the platform’s CEO Jesse Powell stated that the platform could not block the accounts of Russian users without a corresponding legal requirement. However, he warned that the Russians should be prepared for the fact that the requirements may appear. Later, in early March, Powell confirmed that the exchange would not touch Russian accounts without a legal basis.
13. Gate.io (₽162 billion; 7.4) – the Chinese cryptocurrency exchange gave its last comment on the situation at the end of March. The company said that they do not plan to block users from any regions, unless there are grounds for this and a corresponding decision from the authorities.
14. Coincheck (₽3 billion; 6.7) – Tokyo-based crypto exchange president Satoshi Hasuo said the company will work with the Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA) to understand what specific measures will help limit Russians’ ability to circumvent sanctions with digital currencies .
15. Bitget (₽17 billion; 4.5) – Singapore-based crypto exchange has announced that it is not going to follow the example of other sites and will not revise its policy towards Russia. On the contrary, the platform intends to expand the list of services for Russians.
Most crypto exchanges are now simply keeping silent, waiting for developments. FTX, Coinbase, Bitfinex, Gemini, Bybit, Blockchain.com, EXMO and Kraken have not yet answered questions from Bits.media for clarification.
