Binance adds fiat currency restrictions for Russian users

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues introducing more restrictions for Russian customers on its peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platform.

Binance P2P has banned Russian residents from using fiat currencies other than the Russian ruble, Binance announced on its Telegram channel on Aug. 27.

Binance’s Russian clients residing outside the country have also been banned from using currencies like the ruble, the euro, the United States dollar and the Ukrainian hryvnia.

In order to use the Russian ruble on Binance P2P, users must have Russian Know Your Customer (KYC) verification and reside in Russia at the same time, the exchange stated.

“We apologize for the inconvenience. If you have any questions or need assistance regarding this update, please contact Binance Customer Support,” Binance stated. The announcement has brought some attention from Binance’s Russian users, with the Telegram post having amassed nearly 700 user comments at the time of writing.

The new restrictions have mostly affected Russians who reside in other countries and need to convert their rubles from Russian banks to other currencies using Binance’s P2P service, according to multiple comments.

For example, one alleged Binance P2P user experienced difficulties in buying Tether (USDT) with rubles from the sanctioned Russian Tinkoff Bank. “My account is verified abroad,” the alleged user said, adding that she needed to transfer her Russian pay to Switzerland.

“If you’re in Switzerland, you should be taking your pay in francs,” one Telegram user commented. Another alleged Binance P2P user also faced issues in 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 for rubles and selling them for the Kazakh tenge,” the person wrote in a chat with Binance customer support. The user complained about becoming unable to proceed with such transactions after Aug. 25.

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

Binance didn’t mention whether the latest restrictions for Russian citizens are related to Western sanctions or, rather, new fiat currency restrictions imposed by the Russian government amid the decline of the ruble.

According to local reports, banks have been introducing massive restrictions on fiat deposits and transfers, including 50% fees on U.S. dollar transactions, amid the ruble crashing through 100 rubles vs. the U.S. dollar in mid-August.

Related: OKX and Bybit remove sanctioned Russian banks from payments list

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

The latest restrictions by Binance add to a series of other recent measures targeting Russian users. On Aug. 25, Binance removed sanctioned Russian banks like Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank from the list of available payments on its P2P platform.

The news came just a few days after Binance promoted its services on vDud, one of the biggest Russian YouTube channels run by Yuri Dud.

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