Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is progressing with its exit from Russia and is preparing to terminate local currency deposits next week.
Binance will stop accepting deposits in Russian rubles starting Nov. 15, 2023, the firm officially announced on Friday. Binance also advised users to withdraw RUB from the platform, as it expects to terminate RUB withdrawals on Jan. 31, 2024.
The announcement notes that Binance users can transfer their funds to CommEX, a new crypto exchange business that acquired Binance’s Russian division in September 2023. Binance noted that RUB withdrawals on CommEX will be zero-fee.
Other withdrawal options include Binance’s fiat partners, which will allow users to convert RUB to cryptocurrency using the “Convert” tool or just exchange on the Binance Spot Market.
Binance didn’t specify the fees for other withdrawal methods. The firm did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Binance announced its full exit from Russia through the sale of its firm to a newly launched crypto exchange business known as CommEX in late September 2023. The transaction quickly sparked controversy, as Binance and CommEX have not provided much information about the size of the deal or the founders of CommEX.
Many crypto observers have speculated that CommEX was just a new name for Binance, giving it a means for the exchange to continue operations in Russia without having issues with Western sanctions against the country. The skeptics have found significant evidence for such claims, including CommEX hiring prominent former Russia-related executives from Binance.
Binance continued to deny the allegations of possible ties between the platform and CommEX, though. “With this sale, Binance fully exits Russia. We have no plans to get back,” a spokesperson for Binance told Cointelegraph.
According to the US Department of Justice, Wolf Capital’s co-founder has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for luring 2,800 crypto investors into a Ponzi scheme.
Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.
Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.
The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.
The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.
However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.
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On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.
“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.
“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”
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10:32
Nandy defends Reeves’ trip to China
However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.
While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.
It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.
Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.
Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.
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2:45
How much do we trade with China?
Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.
During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.
The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.
Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”