Binance will no longer be able to process Mastercard or Visa transactions made in Russia starting Wednesday, March 9. This is the reason why Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, has been suspended by the U.S. payment processing companies.
In line with policy changes made by the two financial service corporations, the platform also noted that transactions with Mastercard or Visa cards issued outside Russia will not be possible on Binance in the country.
Forklog reported that the restrictions only apply to Binance’s cryptoto-fiat services. A representative of Binance was quoted by Forklog. The spokesperson explained that traders will be allowed to continue using Russian cards in peer–to–peer transactions, except for those issued by banks subject to sanctions.
Kyiv called on all crypto-exchanges to block Russian accounts amid the ongoing Russian military attack on Ukraine. Although some platforms such as the U.S. Coinbase and South Korean Upbit, Bithumb, have placed restrictions on their users, the major global exchanges Binance and Kraken refused to unilaterally freeze all Russian-based users’ accounts.
Russians are now turning to digital assets markets as financial sanctions have been imposed by the West on Moscow. Reports show that there has been a surge in Russian ruble trading on Binance, among other places. Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of the exchange, stated that the exchange is following sanctions rules but does not restrict access to ordinary Russian citizens who are not on the sanction lists.
Binance is also involved in financing humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The exchange announced the donation of $10 Million for Ukrainian civilians affected by the military conflict. Additionally, the Binance Charity Foundation donated Unicef $2.5 Million worth of cryptocurrency.