Russian authorities have blacklisted Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. 

On 24 September, in an announcement on its official Russian Telegram channel, Binance confirmed that Russian telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, had added the crypto exchange to a list of prohibited sites. 

It seems Binance has been deemed guilty of disturbing prohibited information – namely, that related to the acquisition of cryptocurrencies – and that it has actually been blacklisted since June 2020. 

In an official statement, Binance responded to the ban by saying:

“We were not previously notified of any claims by law enforcement agencies, civil government services or courts prior to receiving the above notification. We have now engaged our legal counsels for further advice and would like to assure all of our Russian users that there will be no disruption to their services in the interim and that their funds are safe.”

Despite the supposed ban, Russian Binance users are still able to access Binance without resorting to a VPN. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The fact that Binance seems to have been blacklisted since June 2020, despite the company being unaware of it, would suggest the move is not in response to the company’s plans to launch its crypto debit card in the country – as that announcement came in September 2020. 

Obviously, the question now is how determined are the Russian authorities to stop Binance? The fact they haven’t even blocked access to the site would seem to indicate the answer is “not very.” 

But, things can change – less than a year ago Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (or ‘CZ’), was referring to President Vladimir Putin as the most influential person in blockchain. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020