Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Tuesday that it will stop taking Mastercard and Visa cards in Russia as of Wednesday. All transactions made through the two outside of Russia will be unavailable in Russia as well.
The move, which was published on Binance’s blog, comes after the world’s major card companies declared that they will stop operating in Russia as a result of sanctions imposed by the US over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Last Monday, American Express announced the closure of its Russian operations.
The United States has imposed some of the toughest sanctions on Russia yet, blocking six large banks from using the SWIFT payments network and freezing their foreign assets. Following the action, Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, shut down its European operations.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated the decision in the tweet below
Binance, like the majority of other cryptocurrency exchanges, had resisted requests to block all Russian customers. However, the exchanges agreed to abide by US sanctions to the point where any blacklisted firms would be barred from using their platforms.
Coinbase recently announced that it has disabled 25,000 Russian wallets that looked to be involved in illicit activity, though CEO Brian Armstrong stressed that a blanket ban on Russian users was not in the cards.
Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, has also spoken out against the banning of Russian users, stating that Kraken would only do so if legally required.
The US government recently announced the addition of cryptocurrency to its sanctions on Russia, as well as a warning to exchanges not to deal with people on the blacklist.
However, cryptocurrency exchanges have been an outlier in an otherwise huge exodus from Russia. Apple and Netflix, as well as oil giant BP and top consumer brands Nike and Disney, have all criticised the invasion of Ukraine and shut down their Russian businesses.
The US also indicated it was considering sanctions against Russian oil, which is the country’s most important export. The measures are projected to have a severe effect on Russia’s economy, putting it on the verge of years of recession.