Binance To Limit Services to Russians Following Latest Round of EU Sanctions

Derivatives bets for those who have account balances exceeding the threshold will be given 90 days to close their positions, Binance said

article-image

Binance’s Changpeng Zhao

share

key takeaways

  • A fresh round of EU sanctions included provisions to extend a prohibition on deposits to crypto wallets
  • Binance will restrict Russian nationals with holdings above 10,000 euros ($10,777) to withdrawal-only mode, it said

Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges by trade volume, said Thursday it will limit services to Russian customers in an attempt to honor the EU’s latest round of sanctions measures.

Russian nationals or natural persons residing in Russia, as well as legal entities established in the country, with crypto exceeding a threshold of 10,000 euros ($10,777) will be put into a withdrawal-only mode, according to a blog post.

Accounts for Russian nationals residing outside Russia — who are able to prove with a verifiable address — as well as those below the crypto threshold, will remain unaffected.

Derivatives positions for those who have crypto account balances that exceed the threshold will be given 90 days to close out their positions, Binance said in its post. No new positions will be allowed to be added.

Previously hesitant about imposing restrictions on Russian nationals, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said in an interview with Bloomberg last month his exchange would resist calls to limit services to “normal people.”

Binance’s move Thursday flies against its prior stance, as well as the position of other well-established exchanges including Kraken and Coinbase, as pressure mounts over ratcheted sanctions.

The EU’s latest round of sanctions includes a prohibition to purchase, import or transfer coal and other solid fossil fuels, a prohibition to provide access to EU ports and further export bans. It also includes a series of targeted economic measures, which includes an extended prohibition on deposits to crypto wallets.

“While these measures are potentially restrictive to normal Russian citizens, Binance must continue to lead the industry in implementing these sanctions,” Binance said in its post. “We believe all other major exchanges must follow the same rules soon.”

Earlier this month, the EU adopted its fifth round of sanctions against Russia over its military aggression against Ukraine. Russia’s invasion, which began Feb. 24, sparked global condemnation from the Western powers and triggered a flurry of economic sanctions aimed at imposing costs on Vladimir Putin’s regime.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

Silk Road founder Ulbricht made a triumphant return to the Bitcoin Conference, 10 years on from sentencing

article-image

A Blockworks Research report looked at who could take up some of the marketshare in the launchpad space

article-image

Business-to-business stablecoin payments are on the rise, per a report from Artemis, Dragonfly and Castle Island

article-image

Crypto continues to do its thing: incentivizing behavior

article-image

Kraken will soon offer Backed ‘xStocks’ as Solana tokens

article-image

In a unanimous decision, the US Court of International Trade has ruled that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are unlawful