According to Russian media, the Crypto Derivatives Exchange Deribit is shutting down operations in Russia to comply with European Union sanctions. However, some Russians living abroad have access to the services.
Russian users were warned of changes posted on February 5th on DeLibit’s website, such as:
“EU sanctions against Russia make Deribit unable to accept Russian citizens and Russian residents as clients unless exceptions apply. Since Deribit’s parent company is Dutch, these EU sanctions are related to us I’m doing it.”
The statement explained that affected users will be limited to “reduction only” transactions starting on February 17th. All Russian user accounts will be closed on March 29th, but withdrawals are still possible.
Exchanges leave 15% of customer base
For Russian citizens living abroad, Delibit’s services are intuitively opposed to Russian citizens who live permanently in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, who do not live anywhere else. It will remain accessible. The EEA consists of European Union member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Delibitt left the Netherlands for Panama in 2020 to avoid restrictions. I moved from Panama to Dubai in April 2024. In 2024 there was a trading volume of $1.2 trillion.
A survey conducted in May found that 15% of visitors to Delibit’s website are from Russia. Other Russian traffic-heavy exchanges were Bibit (27%), Bitfinex (22%), HTX (14%) and MEXC (10%).
Delivit is not active in the US. The website was not accessible from the US on February 5th. The government feels high pressure from international sanctions, which results in departures from Russia as it warms up to cryptocurrency.
The Russian crypto scene is changing rapidly
Bloomberg reported in August that Russia is on the verge of implementing encryption and off-ramp using MIR cards, the national payment card system. This system belongs to the Bank of Russia and is completely regulated.
Bloomberg also cites finance minister Anton Silanov saying the government is looking for ways to legalize crypto exchanges, establishing crypto trading programs on the Moscow and St. Petersburg currency exchanges. He said he could.
In December, the central bank enacted measures to crack down on commercial transactions just days after President Vladimir Putin truly supported the use of Bitcoin and the country began using crypto for international trade.
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