Crypto Exchange Binance Lifts Restrictions on Russian Visa and Mastercard Users and Transactions: Report

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, quietly lifted restrictions on Russian citizens and residents it had imposed over a year ago. In March 2022, after the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia in response to the attack on Ukraine, Binance announced that it would not support deposits from Visa and Mastercard cards issued in Russia, as well as any Visa and Mastercard deposits made from Russia.

Now the restriction appears to be gone: Users can deposit Russian rubles, euros, British pounds and other currencies from bank cards issued in Russia, crypto news website Forklog reported on Saturday.

Earlier in April, Russian users also reported that Binance lifted limits on accounts with balances greater than 10,000 euros for users in Russia. The exchange has not officially issued a statement on any of these changes.

When contacted today by CoinDesk, a Binance spokesperson did not explicitly confirm or deny the lifting of restrictions, but stated in an email: “All applicable restrictions related to sanctions against Russian nationals are being used by the platform and its legal entities in the European Union in full .”

Last year’s ban on Russian bank cards came after the EU and the US imposed sanctions against Russia, which invaded Ukraine. Most Russian banks were cut off from the international interbank settlement network SWIFT.

Last spring, the EU expanded its sanctions and banned crypto services from serving Russian users with account balances above 10,000 euros. This fall, this threshold was eliminated, making it impossible for Russian citizens and residents to use crypto services registered in the EU. Immediately, LocalBitcoins, Crypto.com and Blockchain.com notified Russian users that their accounts would soon be terminated.

When Binance announced the €10,000 limit for users in Russia, it stated that “the EU’s fifth package of restrictive measures against Russia” required the restrictions. While the sanctions remain in place, this restriction no longer exists on Binance, according to media reports, nor does the Russian bank card ban. However, last month Binance banned peer-to-peer (p2p) trading in dollars and euros for Russian citizens and residents, leaving only the Russian ruble option. The Binance spokesperson confirmed that this restriction remains.

Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in October, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that Binance is complying with the sanctions, but that some of its legal entities outside the EU may still be able to serve Russians. “We are against war dictatorships. We are not against the population, Zhao said.