Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has stopped serving users in Russia and Belarus, becoming the third major trading platform this month to announce such restrictions, RBC Crypto reported Thursday.
The decision covers all products and services offered by the exchange and follows similar moves by Bitget and MEXC.
KuCoin cited regulatory compliance in announcing its withdrawal. The platform said it would allow affected customers to close their trading positions and withdraw their assets.
Affected users will receive individual notices outlining deadlines and instructions for withdrawing funds. Those who do not receive a notice do not need to take any action, the exchange said.
KuCoin ranks eighth in CoinMarketCap’s exchange rankings, with daily trading volume of about $1.2 billion. The company says it has around 45 million users.
Bitget and MEXC, both also among CoinMarketCap’s top 10 exchanges, announced similar restrictions on users from Russia and Belarus earlier in October. Both cited international regulatory requirements and said customers would have time to close trades and withdraw their funds.
Nikita Zuborev, a senior analyst at cryptocurrency exchange comparison service BestChange, previously linked the withdrawals to rising compliance costs and the risk of secondary sanctions.
The European Union imposed sanctions on cryptocurrency exchange HTX in July, accusing it of facilitating the circumvention of sanctions against Russia and barring European companies from conducting transactions with the platform.
This article was translated with the help of artificial intelligence and was reviewed by a Moscow Times editor before publication. Learn more about our newsroom's AI policy here.
Read this article in Russian at The Moscow Times' Russian service.
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