Russia-based users are only being allowed transfers in rubles, reports have claimed
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The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance, has barred Russia-based users from trading in any currency other than the ruble through its P2P (peer-to-peer) platform, several news outlets reported on Saturday, citing user complaints.
According to the reports, the change was first noted by Russia-based members of gaming communities who were unable to purchase Turkish lira to buy games on Turkish Steam, PlayStation and Xbox accounts.
Users said that when trying to buy any foreign currency, they received a message advising them to “choose a local currency for p2p trading.” The message also said that this requirement was “in accordance with Binance’s operating rules for the country [they] specified during verification.”
The first such messages were spotted on August 26. According to the reports, only the users who have passed Binance’s ‘know your customer’ (KYC) verification in Russia received them. On the other hand, those that have not passed KYC in Russia said they could not make transactions in rubles.
Frank Media news outlet requested a comment from Binance on the development. It received the following reply: “We regularly update our systems to ensure compliance with local and global regulatory standards. In line with our ongoing commitment, starting today, KYC Russia verified users can only trade using RUB, other fiat currencies are not available to you on Binance P2P.”
The exchange stopped supporting deposits from Visa and Mastercard cards issued in Russia in March 2022, amid Western sanctions placed on the country in connection with the conflict in Ukraine.
In March this year, Binance placed additional restrictions on Russian users, barring them from buying and selling US dollars and euros using P2P. It then also banned users based in the EU from making transfers in Russian rubles via the platform, and placed limitations on Russian accounts that had crypto assets worth over €10,000 ($11,000).
However, in April, reports emerged that these restrictions had been lifted, and Russian users were again able to deposit rubles, euros, British pounds, and other currencies onto the platform from bank cards issued in Russia.
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