Digital asset trading platform KuCoin is terminating every service for users residing in Russia and Belarus, making it the latest exchange to pull out of both nations amid ongoing Western restrictions on financial transactions.
Through an announcement released on Thursday, KuCoin pointed to adherence with legal obligations and regulatory standards as the driving factor, though it refrained from pointing to any particular rule or penalty prompting the choice.
The prohibition goes into effect at once across every offering and tool provided by the platform. Users will receive communication regarding the final dates allowed for liquidating open trades and extracting their assets, according to the announcement.
This platform follows competitors MEXC and Bitget, which recently revealed similar limitations directed at users in Russia and Belarus over the course of the month. MEXC indicated that its platform would cease supporting accounts originating from those two nations effective October 20.
Following the Russian military action in Ukraine during February 2022, Western authorities have enacted punitive measures directed at Russian banking entities and financial transfers. Certain penalties likewise encompass digital currency platforms operating outside of the European Union accused of aiding restricted groups in transferring capital. The European Union initially revealed limitations covering cryptographic currencies back in 2022. During July of the current year, the EU focused its attention on a $120 billion digital currency scheme designated as A7.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/29/kucoin-exits-russia-and-belarus-as-crypto-exchanges-withdraw-from-western-sanctioned-markets.
