Users in Russia say that after a year since the start of the conflict, they may once again use locally issued Mastercard and Visa cards to make deposits on the cryptocurrency exchange.
Over a year after first banning users from Russia, Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, quietly reversed its decision. After Russia attacked Ukraine in March 2022 and the EU imposed sanctions in response, Binance said it would no longer accept deposits from Visa or Mastercard issued in Russia or from Russia itself.
Forklog, a crypto news outlet, claimed on Saturday that the limitation has been lifted, allowing users to deposit Russian rubles, euros, British pounds, and other currencies from bank cards issued in Russia.
Users in Russia say that Binance no longer places a cap on account balances greater than 10,000 euros, as was the case before in April. The stock exchange has not commented on any of these developments.
The EU increased its sanctions on Russia this spring, making it illegal for crypto firms to provide their services to Russian customers with balances of more than 10,000 euros. Since the barrier was removed last autumn, Russian nationals and residents are now unable to utilize any crypto service that is based in the European Union (EU). Russian users were promptly alerted that their accounts on LocalBitcoins, Crypto.com, and Blockchain.com will shortly be closed.
After announcing the 10,000 euro cap for Russian users, Binance cited “the EU’s fifth package of restrictive measures against Russia” as the reason for the restrictions. While the sanctions themselves remain in effect, media sources indicate that this limitation, along with the prohibition on Russian bank cards, no longer applies to Binance.
However, Binance has recently banned p2p trading in dollars and euros for Russian citizens and residents, leaving just the Russian ruble as an alternative for p2p transactions in Russia. The representative from Binance said that the limitation still stands.
