On August 23, the most extensive wave of restrictions from Binance came into effect. The exchange stopped processing transactions with HTX, EXMO, and nine other crypto services, and had previously suspended operations with five other platforms. This concluded the three-stage ban that users were warned about in mid-month.
Behind this decision lies pressure from regulatory bodies in three jurisdictions—the EU, the US, and the UK. In its notice, the exchange cited only abstract regulatory requirements without directly mentioning Russia. However, most of the services on the list are linked to circumventing Western restrictions against Moscow. Notably, on August 24, notifications about this news began reaching Russian users.
How the blocking unfolded and what lies behind the decision
Since August 23, Binance has stopped processing transactions with eleven crypto platforms, including the exchanges HTX and EXMO. This is stated in the company's notice, which was addressed to the entire user base regardless of country.
The August wave occurred in three stages. First, on August 7, Shelbit and Aban Tether Exchange were banned. On August 13, settlements ceased with A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, and PilotFinance. The final and largest stage came on August 23: in addition to HTX and EXMO, the list included Rapira, Aifory Pro, ABCeX, WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto, Tradex, Monease, BitPapa, and Exnode.
Users were advised not to send funds to the listed services, not to receive assets from them, and not to conduct any other operations—neither directly nor through intermediaries. Transfers made after the cutoff may be delayed for compliance checks. During the review, wallets risk temporary restrictions, and the transactions themselves may become a violation of the platform's terms of use.
The reason was formulated ambiguously. The notice refers to recent regulatory changes and the need to comply with requirements in the jurisdictions where the exchange operates. Neither Russia nor a specific EU sanctions package was mentioned in the text, although most entities on the list are tied to this direction.
Several regulators stand behind the decision. Almost all platforms, except Shelbit and Aban Tether, were included in the EU's 21st sanctions package of July 23—Brussels accused them of helping Russia circumvent restrictions. Two Iranian platforms were added to the list by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, while HTX was previously singled out by the UK. The phased nature of the bans shows that pressure on settlement infrastructure is only intensifying.
What market participants are debating
The main question raised by exchange users is why Binance is again the target rather than other major platforms. Discussions offer a simple explanation: the business follows the rules of the country where it operates or wants to operate. Binance operates under the license of the European MiCA regime, so it is forced to comply with EU requirements. Hence the conclusion that competitors will sooner or later face the same pressure—one should watch not just a single platform.
Participants also drew the main lesson—it is risky to keep funds on centralized platforms. Binance freely conducted transfers with blocked services and then suddenly closed the channels. The logic is simple: "not your wallet—not your coins." If the exchange cuts off familiar withdrawal routes at once, the user is left without access to their money.
At the same time, completely abandoning exchanges is not feasible—they are used to convert cryptocurrency into local currency and conduct P2P deals. The compromise proposed in discussions is to store bitcoins in a non-custodial wallet and only deposit funds to the platform for a specific operation. This reduces the chances of ending up in such a situation, especially if news of the ban reaches someone late.
A separate line of debate concerns Russia itself and circumventing sanctions via cryptocurrency. Some participants believe that for a country under restrictions, bitcoin settlements soften the blow more than reliance on fiat. The exchange's duty, in their view, is to warn clients in a timely manner about new measures, as Binance did. A more skeptical assessment also emerged—due to constant concessions to regulators, the platform is losing part of its audience.
What the sanctions mean for Russia's crypto market
Experts assessed the impact of the 21st package on the Russian market differently. Deputy Anton Tkachev noted that the market has long perceived such measures as the norm, while lawyer Maria Agranovskaya called the blow critical, though not fatal. According to her, cryptocurrency that passes through sanctioned participants becomes "tainted," which threatens isolation and the growth of the gray segment.
A separate issue is the resilience of Russia's crypto circuit, which is being built for cross-border settlements. Surveyed specialists explained why this structure is needed and why sanctions will not kill it: the very nature of decentralized assets prevents the circuit from being fully closed within the country. Banks with ready-made infrastructure will benefit, while small capital and startups will lose out.
The novelty of Brussels' approach is that an entire jurisdiction can now be cut off. Previously, the logic of the 21st package assumed: instead of targeted measures against individual exchanges, the EU gained the right to cut off intermediary countries with all their exchangers and wallets from its services. The target also included the ruble stablecoin A7A5, through which, according to Chainalysis, transactions totaling nearly $93.3 billion were processed.
Not all industry representatives consider such measures justified. On-chain investigator ZachXBT called the UK sanctions against HTX excessive: in his words, adding the exchange to the list rendered the risk assessment of blockchain addresses meaningless.
The restrictions reshaped the balance of power among the exchanges themselves. Analysts at AI Boss Blog, in their review of the consequences, concluded that Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini with Western compliance infrastructure gained an advantage from the restrictions, while Binance and KuCoin are losing ground.
My view: This wave of restrictions is not a one-off action but part of a systemic trend toward the segmentation of the global crypto market. Binance, as the largest player, is forced to demonstrate maximum loyalty to regulators, sacrificing the convenience of users from unfriendly jurisdictions. In the long term, this will only accelerate the transition to decentralized solutions and non-custodial tools, while centralized exchanges will continue to lose trust as "safe havens" for storing assets.