London-based crypto exchange Exmo is the latest crypto trading platform to formally suspend its activity in Russia and Belarus due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Exmo is to sell its digital assets business in Russia and Belarus to a Russia-based software development company, it was officially announced on April 18. At the time of this writing, the new owner and the amount of the settlement have not been disclosed.
“Unfortunately, we can no longer maintain the high-risk part of the business, as a global group does not want to jeopardize global expansion plans by keeping such high-risk markets in its structure”Exmo CEO Serhii Zhdanov told Cointelegraph.
The deal includes the accounts of Exmo’s clients in Russia and Belarus, as well as local fiat access systems, Zhdanov said. The technical code of the platform is not sold and is the property of the Exmo group in its entirety.
As part of the deal, Exmo’s ultimate owner, Eduard Bark, also leaves the company, transferring his stake to Zhdanov.
In addition to Russia and Belarus, the deal also includes Exmo’s business in Kazakhstan, as the new owner’s team is based in this country. The undisclosed buyer owns a Russian software development company and a Kazakhstan-based legal entity for a cryptocurrency exchange.noted the CEO.
“We have put a lot of effort into the Russian part of the business, so we have made sure that it is now in good hands. The new owner is not only following the roadmap we have created earlier, but will reach the new heights much more easily. We have made this decision for the benefit of both parties,” Zhdanov said. The company said it will not penalize ordinary people or block any accounts due to the sanctions in mid-March.
As part of Exmo’s departure from Russia and Belarus, Exmo has amended its user agreement to indicate that Russian, Belarusian, and Kazakh residents are no longer onboarding to its platform.. The exchange disabled Russian ruble trading pairs on April 15.
Exmo is a major cryptocurrency exchange founded by Russian entrepreneurs Ivan Petuhovski and Pavel Lerner in 2013. The firm’s departure from Russia will have a significant impact for the exchange, as Russia was one of its main markets, Zhdanov admitted, stating:
“A significant part of our business was in Russia. We will experience a decrease in revenue of close to 30%. However, in the long term we are confident that it will accelerate our exponential growth and allow the company to become a unicorn in the next three years. .”
“We would consider going back when Russia is no longer classified as a high-risk country,” Zhdanov said.
The news comes shortly after Belarus-linked cryptocurrency exchange Currency.com announced the cessation of operations in Russia last week.
Some major cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Binance, continue to operate in Russia, choosing to enforce sanctions against certain sanctioned individuals rather than entire nations.
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