CommEX, the crypto exchange that bought Binance’s Russian business, announces closure
In September 2023, Binance entered into an agreement to sell its entire Russian business to CommEX. Six months after that, the Russian crypto exchange announced a gradual suspension of operations starting March 25. For this reason, Binance is now looking for a new buyer for its Russian business instead of CommEX.
CommEX is a global cryptocurrency exchange registered in 2023 in the Seychelles on the basis of a Russian business purchased from Binance.
The platform targets the markets of Russia and the CIS, Asia and Latin America. The number of clients of the exchange exceeds 200,000. EU and US residents cannot trade on CommEX, and blocking by IP or verification data is provided.
“Unfortunately, after a thorough analysis of the current situation and a review of strategic plans, we are forced to announce the decision to suspend the trading platform,” the CommEX website says.
The operations will be phased out gradually, starting on March 25, 2024, and will last until May 10. Initially, CommEX will close the registration of new users and asset transfers from Binance, as well as stop accepting deposits in fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies.
The crypto exchange advises users to close their positions promptly and withdraw their assets to third-party wallets. Starting May 10, the official website will cease to operate, and accounts of platform users with assets after that date will be subject to asset management fees.
UPDATED 03/25/2024 18:20
Binance has announced that it is in talks with several platforms to sell its Russian business to replace CommEX, which has announced its intention to cease operations. This is stated in a statement by Binance, which is available to Ekonomichna Pravda.
“We know that CommEX has decided to close its business. They have been unable to fulfill their obligations to Binance under the agreement we entered into with them in September 2023. This decision in no way affects our obligations to existing Russian users, whose digital assets remain safe, but users can no longer switch to CommEX,” the statement said.
Binance added that the exchange’s decision to leave the Russian market remains unchanged.
“We plan to permanently shut down all Binance exchange services and business operations in Russia, while making every effort to ensure a seamless user experience during this transition. Binance complies with global sanctions rules and fully enforces restrictions on individuals, entities and countries that are subject to sanctions imposed by the international community, thus denying such parties access to the Binance platform,” Binance said.
As a reminder, as of December 31, 2023, Binance stopped supporting transactions with the Russian ruble.
