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Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, has closed the purchase and sale of US dollars and euros through its peer-to-peer (P2P) service for Russian citizens. Peer-to-peer trading allows users to make transactions directly with each other, without the exchange acting as an intermediary. The restrictions were imposed in line with the tenth EU sanctions package against Russia, according to a report by business outlet RBC citing a Binance representative.
According to the representative, to continue using the crypto exchange, Russians can choose other available fiat currencies. Any attempt to make a transaction in dollars or euros will not be approved – the service will offer users from Russia “to choose the local currency, in accordance with Binance’s rules for the country specified in the verification.” EU citizens, for their part, can no longer conduct transactions in roubles, which is another restriction imposed by the new sanctions package.
In 2022, Russian authorities were reported to have gained access to Russian citizens’ data relating to the transfer of cryptocurrencies. The head of Russia’s financial monitoring service (Rosfinmonitoring), Yuri Chikhanchin, announced the development in an address to Vladimir Putin in late June 2022.