Binance Prohibits Russian Users from Using Foreign Currency Other than Rubles

Binance continues to impose more restrictions on Russian customers (photo: binance.com)

JAKARTA - Crypto exchange Binance continues to implement more restrictions for Russian customers on its peer trading (P2P) platform.

Binance P2P has banned residents of Russia from using any fiat currency other than the Russian ruble, announced by Binance on its Telegram channel on August 27.

Russian clients of Binance living outside the country are also prohibited from using currencies such as the ruble, euro, United States dollar, and Ukrainian hryvnia.

To use Russian rubles on Binance P2P, users must have Russian "Know Your Customer" (KYC) verification and at the same time reside in Russia, the exchange explained.

"We apologize for the inconvenience. If you have any questions or need assistance regarding this update, please contact Binance Customer Support," said Binance. This announcement has caught the attention of several Russian Binance users, with the Telegram post having garnered nearly 700 user comments at the time of writing.

The new restrictions mostly affect Russian citizens who live in other countries and need to convert their rubles from Russian banks to other currencies using Binance's P2P services, according to various comments.

For example, a user suspected of using Binance P2P had difficulty buying Tether (USDT) with rubles from the sanctioned Russian Tinkoff Bank. "My account has been verified abroad," said the alleged user, adding that he needed to transfer his payments in Russia to Switzerland.

"If you are in Switzerland, you should be paid in francs," commented one Telegram user. Another alleged user also faced problems transferring rubles to Kazakhstan.

“I have been in Kazakhstan for almost a year, I live and work here. But sometimes I need to transfer money from the Russian Federation, so for a year now I have been buying USDT with rubles and selling them for Kazakhstan tenge,” the person wrote in a conversation with Binance customer support. The user complained that he could not continue such transactions after August 25.

Replying to the complaint, a Binance customer support manager noted that users must meet all three requirements to use rubles on Binance, including providing Russian KYC, Russian citizenship, and proof of a Russian address.

Binance did not say whether the latest restrictions on Russian citizens were related to Western sanctions or new fiat currency restrictions imposed by the Russian government along with the depreciation of the ruble.

According to local reports, banks have imposed severe restrictions on fiat deposits and transfers, including a 50% fee on US dollar transactions, as the ruble plunged past 100 rubles per US dollar in mid-August.

Binance did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment.

The latest restrictions by Binance add to the list of recent moves targeting Russian users. On August 25, Binance removed sanctioned Russian banks such as Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank from the list of payments available on its P2P platform.

This news comes just days after Binance has been promoting its service on vDud, one of the largest Russian YouTube channels managed by Yuri Dud.