Binance Exits Russia With Sale to Fledgling Crypto Firm CommEX

Binance says it will exit the Russian cryptocurrency market as part of its compliance strategy.

The world’s largest crypto company announced Wednesday (Sept. 27) that it had agreed to sell its Russian business to CommEX, a crypto exchange that apparently launched Tuesday (Sept. 26) morning.

The move follows a series of departures by Binance from other countries, and comes as the embattled company deals with regulatory pressure around the globe.

“As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance’s compliance strategy,” Binance Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman said in a press release.

“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.”

According to the release, the off-boarding is expected to take up to a year to “ensure a smooth process” for Russian users, whose assets are “safe and securely protected.”

Binance says it will work with CommEX to instruct users on how to migrate their assets to the new exchange.

“Over the next several months, Binance will sunset all exchange services and business lines in Russia,” the release said. “Every effort will be made to maintain a smooth user experience during this transition.”

Financial terms were not released, but Biannce stressed that it will have no ongoing revenue split from the sale, nor the option to buy back shares in the business.

CommEX launched earlier this week, writing on X/Twitter that it had “leading crypto exchange experience in Spot, Futures, Simple Futures and P2P markets.”

When a Twitter user asked for more details about the company — such as the people involved — the company responded that “more information will be available at a later stage.”

PYMNTS has contacted CommEX for comment but has not yet received a reply.

The news comes one day after a Wall Street Journal report that looked at unease among traders about the possibility of Binance’s downfall.

The report also included an internal memo from Binance Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Yi He, promising to help get past the company’s troubles.

“Every battle is a do-or-die situation, and the only thing that can defeat us is ourselves,” she wrote in the message seen by the WSJ. “We have won countless times, and we need to win this time as well.”