Major crypto exchanges allow sanctioned Russian banks to transact: Report

According to a report from digital asset data analytics firm Inca Digital, two major crypto exchanges Huobi and KuCoin enable people to trade crypto using debit cards issued by sanctioned Russian banks like Sberbank.

Two major crypto exchanges still allow customers of sanctioned Russian banks to transact on their platforms, according to a report from digital asset data analytics firm Inca Digital.

Huobi and KuCoin enable people to trade crypto using debit cards issued by sanctioned Russian banks like Sberbank. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Huobi and KuCoin enable people to trade crypto using debit cards issued by sanctioned Russian banks like Sberbank, the report found. Inca Digital Chief Executive Officer Adam Zarazinski said in an interview that this could be a violation of US and European sanctions and that the transactions often involve Tether, a stablecoin that has faced its own scrutiny from regulators.

“Tether is frequently used by Russians to move money out of the country,” he said. “It is absolutely used by these two exchanges in particular to provide crypto banking services to sanctioned Russian banks.”

Huobi advisor Justin Sun did not immediately return requests for comment regarding the report. Representatives of KuCoin and Tether also didn’t immediately respond to separate requests for comment.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is also mentioned prominently in the report. The exchange offers “multiple methods for Russians to convert local currency into crypto,” including via their over-the-counter trading desk and a peer-to-peer marketplace, the report said. Each of these options are open to Russians without know-your-customer checks for up to a $10,000, the report said.

Binance, which has been subject to numbers investigations worldwide, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In the US, Binance has been probed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service.

Zarazinski said the company plans to release the report publicly soon, noting that it is the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The report included other troubling observations about the 62 crypto exchanges it analyzed, including that some of them do not require Russians to pass KYC checks.

“We want crypto to not just survive all the stuff that’s happened recently, but thrive,” he said. “But we also want to fend off bad actors and grow the industry responsibly.”