Cryptocurrency exchange CommEX announced the cessation of operations. The company has stopped registering new users, and all operations will be closed by May 10, 2024.
The CommEX exchange bought Binance's business when one of the industry leaders officially left the Russian Federation. The company claimed that the former owners had nothing to do with the project. At the same time, CommEX acknowledged the fact that some Binance employees had transferred to their team.
According to the press release, the decision to close the exchange was made after “a thorough analysis of the current situation and a review of strategic plans.” They did not specify the reasons for the termination of activities in the company.
The process of closing the exchange will occur in several stages:
- from March 25 to March 28, 2024, the company will stop registering new users and stop opening positions in Simple Futures and Futures Trading;
- from April 2 to April 5, CommEX will stop publishing advertisements on the P2P market and will also automatically close all orders;
- On April 18, the exchange will withdraw available trading pairs from circulation;
- On April 23, the company will completely close the spot market and curtail all operations;
- On May 10, 2024, the official CommEX website will cease operation and users will no longer be able to access exchange-related content.
The company said that accounts that retain assets after May 10, 2024 will be subject to a 1% management fee.
The closure of the cryptocurrency exchange was commented on by the former head of Binance for Eastern Europe, Gleb Kostarev.
“To be honest, it was obvious from day one of Commex's launch that this was most likely going to end up like this,” he wrote.
Update: in a conversation with the editors of Incrypted, Binance representatives commented on the situation. According to them, CommEX was unable to fulfill obligations under the deal concluded in September 2023.
As Binance explained, the decision to stop work does not affect the platform’s obligations to Russian users whose digital assets are safe. However, they will no longer be able to use CommEX services.
The commentary states that Binance’s decision to leave the Russian market remains unchanged. The press service confirmed that the platform is negotiating with several service providers about the sale of Russian businesses.
“We plan to permanently wind down all exchange services and business operations of Binance in Russia, while making every effort to ensure a smooth user experience during this transition,” Binance said in a statement.
The company assured that it continues to adhere to global sanctions rules and comply with restrictions on individuals, legal entities and countries that are sanctioned by the international community, thereby denying such individuals access to the Binance platform.
“Compliance with sanctions remains our top priority. Our focus is always on users and maintaining their trust in our platform. We have made significant contributions to the development of compliance skills, procedures and technology, and will continue to do so in the future.”
In addition, Binance announced its intention to create a number of compliance programs and effectively cooperate with law enforcement agencies around the world.
In the comments to the official CommEX publication, users are perplexed about the reasons for the termination of work. Part of the community demands clarification of the situation, while another notes the low influx of clients and, accordingly, the infusion of funds.
