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Binance Blocks Transactions With 14 Crypto Platforms After New EU Sanctions on Russia
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Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, will stop processing transactions with crypto platforms linked to Russia and listed in the European Union's latest sanctions package. The first restrictions took effect on August 13, with a further round due on August 23.
The Moscow Times reported the step on August 14, the same day Binance set out the affected platforms in an announcement on its official website.
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The European Union adopted its 21st sanctions package on July 23, targeting 14 cryptocurrency services that the bloc's council assessed had been used by Russian structures to circumvent sanctions.
The listed services span six jurisdictions, including the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus.
Restrictions on A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, and PilotFinance took effect on August 13.
A second round covering Rapira, Aifory Pro, ABCeX, WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto, Tradex, Monease, BitPapa, Exnode and Exnode Pay, HTX, and EXMO follows on August 23.
Two further platforms, Shelbit and Aban Tether, were cut off from August 7.
"Following recent regulatory developments, Binance will no longer be processing transactions involving certain crypto-asset service providers/platforms," the exchange stated in the announcement.
It warned that transactions attempted after the effective dates could be held for a compliance review, with restrictions applied to the wallets involved while checks continue.
Notably, the announcement pointed only to recent regulatory developments and the requirements of the jurisdictions where Binance operates, and did not name Russia or the EU sanctions package.
Several of the listed services had served as intermediaries between ruble transfers and stablecoins routed to global exchanges, including HTX, EXMO, and Rapira.
The curbs are expected to thin liquidity and raise costs for Russian peer-to-peer trading, though much of that activity is likely to shift toward untouched services, Telegram-based exchangers, and cash.
Binance announced its departure from Russia on September 27, 2023, selling its Russian business to the exchange COMMEX, and in November of that year ended its partnership with the payment system AdvCash, which had enabled ruble deposits and withdrawals, including through sanctioned Russian banks.
After exiting, the exchange continued to serve a limited number of Russian users while stating that it observed restrictions on sanctioned individuals.
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The measures come as Binance faces continued pressure in the United States. In the spring, Senator Richard Blumenthal opened a preliminary investigation and pressed chief executive Richard Teng over transactions linked to Iran and Russia, citing reports of $1.7 billion in transfers through the exchange.
Blumenthal later indicated he would keep pushing Binance to comply with sanctions and anti-money-laundering law. The August 23 tranche of restrictions remains pending.
The exposure of the listed platforms to sanctions-evasion flows is not new.
Earlier reports indicated that Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Shelbit, cut off from August 7, had moved at least $4 billion through an Iranian sanctions-evasion operation, transferring more than $676 million to Binance since May 2024.
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