A year after announcing its departure from the Russian market, Binance continues to provide services to some users in the country. On September 25, 2024, a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph, “We continue to serve a limited number of existing Russian users to ensure their digital assets remain safe and secure.” This revelation, despite the platform’s official withdrawal in 2023, raises questions about Binance’s real commitment to complying with international sanctions.
Binance Had Officially Left Russia in 2023 for Compliance Reasons
Binance’s decision to withdraw completely from the Russian market in 2023 comes against a backdrop of tightening international regulation on cryptocurrencies. Faced with increasing regulatory pressure, the platform had prioritized compliance by divesting its local operations.
In fact, the platform had sold its activities in the territory to CommEx, without disclosing the financial details of the transaction. This decision illustrates the challenges faced by cryptocurrency companies. It happens when they seek to reconcile growth and compliance with the law.
At the time, Noah Perlman, Binance’s head of compliance, said it was impossible for the company to remain in Russia while ensuring compliance with regulations.
Russia Remains an Important Market for Binance in 2024
Russia remains a strategic market for Binance. The country continues to be an important source of traffic for the platform. Despite a 43% drop in traffic to its website between August 2023 and July 2024, according to web analytics platform SimilarWeb, the country remains one of the main sources of visitors. It accounts for 6% of total traffic. These figures testify to Russia’s enduring importance in the Binance user landscape.
Moreover, Russia’s share of traffic is comparable to that of other important Binance markets. These include Turkey and Vietnam. These account for 8% and 6.6% of total traffic respectively.
These figures testify to Russia’s enduring importance in the Binance user landscape and in the cryptocurrency sector.
