- OKX and ByBit removed Tinkoff Bank and Sberbank from their list of options in their P2P program.
- This is after Binance was found still offering transactions through them despite the US sanctions.
- Russians turn to crypto for international transactions after losing access to Swift.
OKX and ByBit have joined the list of crypto exchanges that have delisted sanctioned Russian banks from their peer-to-peer (P2P) services following the increased attention on crypto activities in Russia facilitated by exchanges that also operate in the US and Europe.
Based on reports by local Russian media, two Russian banks, Tinkoff Bank and Sberbank, have both been eliminated from P2P services offered by the two cryptocurrency exchanges due to sanctions imposed by the West after the invasion of Ukraine.
As a result, Russian crypto users are no longer in a position to receive or exchange their fiat money for crypto on the P2P platforms offered by OKX and Bybit.
However, at the time of writing, Russian customers are still able to receive fiat through accounts held with the Russian Standard Bank and the Russian branch of Raiffeisen Bank on the OKX platform. This is because the two banks are not listed under the financial institutions under sanction by the US treasury.
Although the withdrawal of these institutions from the platforms is a big move, the structure and operation of P2P transactions have for long made it difficult to fully enforce such restrictions due to the nature of P2P transactions.
Sanctioned But Still Available
According to reports, some users are reportedly still conducting P2P transactions with some of these sanctioned banks through private channels. This further highlights the difficulties in controlling the decentralized nature of crypto and crypto exchanges.
This delisting began last week when the Wall Street Journal revealed that Binance featured Tinkoff Bank and Sberbank as transfer methods. This sparked a new surge of interest in the existence of sanctioned Russian banks on the payment options of crypto exchanges.
As a result of increased scrutiny, Binance removed Tinkoff and Sberbank from their P2P platform, but has continued to maintain their respective trademark colors of “yellow” and “green”.
The move was confirmed by a representative of the Binance exchange who told the WSJ that all of the sanctioned banks had been taken off the list. “We regularly update our systems to ensure compliance with local and global regulatory standards. When gaps are pointed out to us, we seek to address and remediate them as soon as possible,” the representative said.
Despite stating that the sanctioned banks are no longer an option, Cointelegraph reported that Binance P2P users are still posting advertisements for sales using “the green bank” as their preferred payment method.
These users may list additional payment options like Russian Standard Bank or Ak Bars Bank, but they make it explicit under the “advertiser’s terms” that they will only accept transactions through “the green bank.”
Additionally, a similar case has been observed with both OKX and Bybit who still offer an option of exchange via sanctioned banks in private communication.
Russia Turns To Crypto
Since the country invaded Ukraine, Russia has been subject to severe economic sanctions which were initiated by Western nations. These have resulted in the country’s economy being crippled especially in areas where it relied on Western companies for facilitation.
Due to the global and decentralized nature of crypto, however, various individuals and institutions are now interested in cryptocurrency to facilitate international transfers and business. Russia has seen increased crypto activity despite the country’s ambiguous local stance in the industry seeing as it has previously outlawed private cryptocurrencies.
According to reports from local traditional financial institutions, some of these banks have seen their earnings plunge by up to 90% as a result of losing access to the SWIFT global payments network.
In Q2 2022, Tinkoff Bank reported falling earnings as a result of sanctions against Russia’s financial sector. The corporation reported a $274 million profit, a 67% decrease, and blamed the rise in international tensions.
Even with the increased interest in crypto, users in the countries are still struggling due to the sanctions that have partly strained some functions and operations and made it less straightforward.
