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Cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues to impose more restrictions on its peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platform for Russian customers. In an announcement on its Telegram channel on August 27, Binance P2P stated that residents of Russia are prohibited from using any fiat currency other than Russian rubles (RUB). The platform also banned Binance’s non-resident Russian customers from using currencies such as RUB, euro (EUR), US dollar (USD), and Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH).
Binance Users Complain About the Situation
Binance stated that Russian residents must have Know Your Customer (KYC) verification in Russia to use Russian rubles on Binance P2P and also reside in Russia.
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused. If you have any questions or need assistance regarding this update, please contact Binance Customer Support,” the announcement said. The announcement caught the attention of Binance’s Russian users and has garnered approximately 700 user comments since the post was published on Telegram.
According to many comments, the new restrictions mainly affected Russians residing in other countries who needed to convert their RUB to other currencies through Binance’s P2P service. For example, a user claiming to be a Binance P2P user faced difficulties when purchasing Tether with RUB from the sanctioned bank Tinkoff Bank. The user said, “My account has been verified abroad,” and added that they needed to transfer their payment to Switzerland. Another Binance P2P user claimed to have encountered problems with transferring rubles to Kazakhstan.
“I have been in Kazakhstan for almost a year, living and working here. However, sometimes I need to transfer money from the Russian Federation, so I have been buying USDT with rubles and selling it for Kazakhstani tenge,” the user wrote. The user complained that they could not continue these transactions after August 25.
Binance Does Not Provide an Explanation
A Binance customer support manager addressing the complaint stated that users must meet three requirements, including Russian KYC, Russian citizenship, and proof of address in Russia, in order to use RUB on Binance. Binance did not mention whether the recent restrictions on Russian citizens were related to Western sanctions or new fiat currency restrictions imposed by the Russian government during the decline of the ruble.
According to local news, banks have imposed significant restrictions on fiat deposits and transfers, including a 50% fee, for USD transactions following the drop of the ruble to 100 RUB against USD in mid-August. Binance’s recent restrictions come with a series of other new measures targeting Russian users. On August 25, Binance removed sanctioned Russian banks such as Tinkoff and Rosban from its P2P platform’s list of available payments.
The news comes just a few days after Binance promoted its services on vDud, one of the largest Russian YouTube channels managed by Yuri Dud.
