Binance considers a full exit from Russia: WSJ

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is reevaluating its business in Russia as it faces legal risks in the country, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The exchange is weighing different options for its Russia operations, including a full withdrawal from the market, a Binance spokesperson told the media outlet.

Earlier this week, Binance’s peer-to-peer service removed five sanctioned Russian lenders from its site that had previously given users the means to transfer rubles to each other.

A Binance spokesperson told The Block today that it did not have further comment on the matter.

Legal, regulatory trouble

Also this week, the Journal reported that Binance was helping people in Russia to move money abroad. That report came after the U.S. Justice Department’s investigations into whether Binance had been used by Russians to evade U.S. sanctions, according to a Bloomberg report in May. 

Binance currently finds itself in the crosshairs of multiple U.S. regulators, with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission first filing a lawsuit against the firm in March. The Securities and Exchange Commission also sued the exchange and CEO Changpeng Zhao last month for allegedly violating securities laws.