CommEx, Binance’s Russian counterpart, to cease operations by April

CommEx, the Russian successor to the Binance crypto exchange, has made an official announcement stating that it will be shutting down its operations and has stopped accepting deposits. In September 2023, CommEx acquired Binance’s Russian business in a deal that was undisclosed. The announcement was made on March 25 through the official Telegram group of CommEx, and it immediately halted deposits and closed new registrations. The firm advised users to withdraw their assets to third-party wallets. According to the suspension roadmap, CommEx will cease futures trading on March 28 and gradually suspend peer-to-peer exchange from April 2. By April 23, the spot trading platform will be completely shut down, and the website will be suspended by May 10. The announcement also mentioned that users who still have assets after May 10, 2024, will be subject to an asset management fee of 1% of their assets. In early September 2023, Binance hinted at exiting Russia, and this was further confirmed when top local executives, including vice president of Eastern Europe Gleb Kostarev, stepped down. A few weeks later, Binance sold its entire Russian business to CommEx, but the details of the deal were not disclosed. CommEx clarified that it operated independently from Binance, although some of its key members were former Binance staff. This deal generated speculation among local crypto enthusiasts, who noticed similarities between the Binance and CommEx websites, calling CommEx the “Russian version” of Binance.US. At the time of the sale, Russia was the largest market in terms of user visits on Binance.com, accounting for 6.9% of total visits. The Binance-CommEx deal occurred while former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and Binance were attempting to have a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June 2023 dismissed. The SEC accused Binance of offering the sale of unregistered securities and operating illegally in the United States. Zhao resigned from Binance and pleaded guilty in November 2023. He is currently on bail in the U.S., with a $175 million bond, after a judge denied his request to visit family in the United Arab Emirates. Originally scheduled for February 2024, Zhao’s sentencing has been postponed to late April. CommEx’s closure also coincides with increased scrutiny of Binance by various countries. On March 25, the Philippines blocked local user access to Binance due to concerns over the exchange’s unlicensed operations in the country.