• Two of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, Huobi and KuCoin, have been accused of providing services to customers of sanctioned Russian banks.
• The exchanges allegedly failed to take proper measures in order to block traders from transacting with debit cards issued by these banks.
• Binance and ByBit also reportedly offer multiple methods for Russians to convert local currency into crypto.
Accusations Against Huobi and Kucoin
Huobi and KuCoin, two of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, have reportedly continued to provide services to customers of sanctioned Russian banks. The blockchain analytics firm Inca Digital provided research which claims that the exchanges failed to take proper measures in order to block traders from transacting with debit cards issued by sanctioned Russian banks, including Sberbank. Adam Zarazinski, CEO of Inca Digital said that this could be a violation of US and European sanctions.
Binance and ByBit Offer Crypto Services
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance is reported as offering “multiple methods for Russians to convert local currency into crypto,” including via their over-the-counter trading desk and a peer-to-peer marketplace. Binance denied the allegations claiming they fully impose KYC regulations, even going so far as filtering any forms of communication between users to ensure there is absolutely no potential nexus with Russian entities through any sort of workaround. Singapore based exchange ByBit on the other hand allows users to convert rubles into crypto using their peer-to-peer market as well as fiat deposit options including “any Russian issued card”
Reactions From Exchanges
KuCoin executives dismissed the report while Huobi advisor Justin Sun did not address the claim. Johnny Lyu, chief executive officer at KuCoin stated that “KuCoin does not support the withdrawal and deposit of the cards issued by Russian banks.” Meanwhile Binance denied all allegations claiming they fully implement KYC regulations.
One Year Anniversary Of Sanctions
This report comes one year after Russia was hit with full fledged economic sanctions imposed by both US and European Union governments due to alleged interference with elections in 2016 and 2020 respectively.. Many exchanges had then claimed they were blocking users from Russia yet this report has surfaced raising questions about how effective those restrictions had been enforced..
Conclusion
The accusations against Huobi and Kucoin especially raise serious concerns about whether or not sufficient measures are being taken by major cryptocurrency exchanges in order prevent money laundering or any other illicit activities involving sanctioned banks or countries.. It remains unclear how regulators will respond but it certainly puts greater scrutiny on these platforms when it comes ensuring compliance with existing laws and regulations..