Binance Sells Russian Operations to New Exchange CommEx, Exits Market Entirely
Summary:
Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange, is selling its Russian operations to a new exchange, CommEx, and completely exiting the region. CommEx, registered in Seychelles, was launched just a day before the announcement. Despite being newly established, it already features on CoinMarketCap, a cryptocurrency tracking site. Initial services allow peer-to-peer transactions in Russia, with the introduction of a mobile app and fiat channels in prospects. Meanwhile, speculation abounds about the mysterious ownership of CommEx due to stark similarities between it and Binance's websites. Binance confirmed its full exit, leaving no plans of return.
Binance, the globally recognized cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it will sell its Russian operations to a new exchange known as CommEx, and completely withdraw its presence from the region. The transition promises to be seamless, yet the specifics about CommEx remain sketchy. The newly established exchange was initiated the day before Binance's public declaration of the sale, on September 26, 2023, and the details of the transaction remain undisclosed.
Details regarding the founders of CommEx are slim, and inquiries made in the official CommEx Telegram group about the company's ownership and leadership have been left unanswered. The representative specified that CommEx's registration is based in Seychelles, and intends to operate globally, primarily focusing on the CIS and Asia regions.
Despite being a fledgling exchange, CommEx only offers a browser version at the time of launch, with a mobile app release scheduled soon. Remarkably, even though it was launched just a day ago, it has already been listed on CoinMarketCap - a premier site for tracking cryptocurrency, which was acquired by Binance in 2020. Yet, competing market tracker CoinGecko has no listings for CommEx to date.
As per CoinMarketCap, CommEx has introduced 25 trading pairs, including stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and Binance's BNB cryptocurrency. "CommEx, a rapidly progressing cryptocurrency exchange, is backed by top-tier digital asset VCs," reads the new exchange's description.
Initially, CommEx is set to support peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions in Russia, bypassing the platform’s fiat interfaces. Once these fiat channels are activated, USDT will be traded against Russia’s fiat currency, the ruble, as per a spokesperson.
Binance reassures that users are not obligated to transition to CommEx but can choose another platform if desired. This is a phased exit process as new Russian users will immediately be directed to CommEx, and in the ensuing months, Binance will discontinue all operations and services in Russia.
CommEx will allow users to trade without having to complete KYC checks for withdrawals up to 2 Bitcoin (BTC). However, certain regions like the U.S., Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Singapore, and sanctioned regions such as Iran and Crimea, are barred from registering or accessing its services. It is also expected that Binance’s non-cash payment tool, Binance Pay, will cease to work with CommEx.
Speculations are rife within the Russian crypto community concerning the ownership of CommEx due to the striking resemblance between Binance and CommEx’s websites. Many sections of the sites, including privacy notices and terms of use, bear a striking likeness, prompting speculations of CommEx being a rebranded version of Binance.
Russia is one of Binance's primary markets, and the most prominent in terms of user visits on Binance.com, summing up to 6.9% of total visits as of the time of reporting. Opinions are divided as some believe Binance is unwilling to give up a market as substantial as Russia, and note similarities in the relationship between CommEx in Russia and Binance's American affiliate, Binance.US, which operates "independently".
Requests for comment from Binance and CommEx representatives regarding their awareness of CommEx’s founders or executives were declined or remained unanswered. CommEx's spokesperson stated the team is solely focused on "platform optimization and stability", especially after their website experienced a brief downtime due to an influx of Russian users after Binance's announcement.
A Binance spokesperson, confirming their exit from the Russian market, mentioned, "With this sale, Binance entirely leaves Russia. We have no plans to re-enter.
Published At
9/27/2023 2:22:37 PM
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