Binance, the largest crypto exchange to date, announced that it will limit services for Russian entities who have crypto assets worth over 10,000 euros ($10,893). Russian accounts would no longer have the ability to trade and deposit cryptos, with withdrawal set as a sole option.
Interestingly, Binance’s Russian ban comes just as the European Union adopted the fifth wave of sanctions against Russia, over the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Among the latest measures, EU lawmakers stopped the access of several Russian entities, as well as prevented Russians from receiving EU funding.
The sanctions, imposed by the West, are aiming to block Russia from accessing the international financial system.
Binance changes its stance
Despite its initial comment that the exchange would not oblige to the calls to stop servicing Russian individuals, Binance is now starting a crackdown on Russian citizens. Earlier this year, Binance stopped its support for Visa and Mastercard cards in Russia, after the two pulled out of the country.
“While these measures are potentially restrictive to normal Russian citizens, Binance must continue to lead the industry in implementing these sanctions. We believe all other major exchanges must follow the same rules soon.” Binance added.
However, many crypto exchanges still hold on to their initial stance of allowing Russians to trade and deposit cryptos. For instance, Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong stated that cryptocurrencies are a “lifeline” for many Russians.
Russia ramps up crypto adoption
Despite the sanctions and the general consensus that cryptos are small when compared to the Russian economy, Russians are adopting cryptos more than ever. Indeed, Russian lawmakers are proposing certain kinds of cryptos to be used as legal tender in the country.
Furthermore, the Russian government plans to use the country’s large energy reserves and put them into mining more crypto by establishing an official register of miners, and also issuing subsidies for mining businesses.
Russian mining company gets blacklisted
Meanwhile, Russian mining companies may soon fall under regulatory scrutiny, as Russian crypto mining company Bitriver got blacklisted by the US Treasury Department.
It turns out that the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) sanctioned Bitriver in order to block the company from accessing the global financial market.
Crypto markets adapt
The global crypto market seems to be recovering from the past week’s negative trend. For instance, Bitcoin’s weekly price movement is already positive, up 4% from last week.
Ethereum is up two percent from last week, while projects like Terra (LUNA) and TRON (TRX) increased their market cap by over 10%.
The total crypto market cap also increased and reached $1.97 trillion, close to its April high of almost $2.2 trillion.