Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has officially exited the Russian market through the sale of its Russia-based assets to a newly formed crypto exchange called CommEx.
"As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance's compliance strategy," said Noah Perlman, Binance's chief compliance officer.
"We remain confident in the long-term growth of the web3 industry around the world and will focus our energy on the 100+ other countries in which we operate."
Per Wednesday’s press release, Binance and CommEX will partner to inform users how to migrate their assets to CommEX.
However, there are many questions surrounding the identity and ownership structure of CommEx, which calls itself a “brand-new crypto exchange built for traders”.
“We are wholeheartedly committed to offering you a leading crypto exchange,” CommEx stated in a newly launched, barebones website.
CommEx said it would be providing spot, futures, simple futures and peer-to-peer trading services.
Neither Binance nor CommEx itself has disclosed who the beneficial owners of CommEx are.
"We are unable to disclose details relating to the deal," a Binance spokesperson told Proactive.
"Our highest priority is protecting our users and maintaining trust in our platform. We have worked tirelessly to invest in the teams and systems that ensure user protection. We have made massive investments in compliance talent, processes, and technology and continue to focus on building industry-leading global compliance and law enforcement assistance programs," the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.
Responding to a tweet asking for details, CommEx’s official X (formerly Twitter) page said “more information will be available in a later stage”.
Proactive has requested further details via CommEx’s official Telegram channel.
Binance’s exit from Russia follows a mass exodus of multinational corporations from the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Coca-Cola, BMW and SAP, among many other global blue chips, have ceased trading in Russia.