Binance Halts P2P Service to Russian Traders Amid EU Sanctions

Binance, the world’s largest exchange, halted offering P2P (peer-to-peer) services for Russian users to trade in dollars and euros. This action results from the eleventh set of EU sanctions against Russia, according to a recent report.

The restriction impacts both Russians and non-Russians living in Russia. Furthermore, Binance has made it illegal for EU nationals to use P2P to purchase and sell Russian rubles. If consumers wish to continue utilizing the P2P exchange, they can pick alternative fiat currencies on the site.

P2P services enable users to deal with one another directly without a middleman. Russians who use them to send money overseas had grown accustomed to these services, particularly when conventional SWIFT transfers became challenging in 2022.

The restriction on transactions in dollars and euros will mostly impact arbitrage traders who use P2P platforms instead of SWIFT transfers. The founder of Crypto Holding, Alexei Zyuzin, claims that other users shouldn’t experience any considerable irritation due to this change.

Regulatory Pressure: Binance Sanctions On Russians

In the past, Binance imposed a maximum asset value that may be stored in Russians’ crypto wallets. The cap shouldn’t exceed the equivalent of €10,000 starting in April. Nevertheless, the limits did not go into effect right once after going over the cap; all that was required to lift them was a withdrawal of more than €10,000.

According to experts, Binance’s penalties against Russians last year were not too severe. As required by the eighth batch of EU sanctions, Binance did not restrict access to the exchange for Russians.

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The restriction on P2P transactions is probably the result of regulators worldwide giving cryptocurrency exchanges more attention. Governments have been attempting to bring Binance and other cryptocurrency exchanges under the same regulatory umbrella as conventional financial institutions. In addition, which has presented regulatory hurdles for them.

However, Binance’s decision to ban P2P transactions is a significant move that will impact the crypto world. The long-term effects of the restriction on Binance’s operations and the whole crypto market remain to be seen.