KuCoin to Stop Serving Residents of Russia and Belarus

KuCoin said it is ending service for users in Russia and Belarus, citing “the need to comply with current legal and regulatory requirements.” For high-risk payment and crypto operators, this is another reminder that customer geography can become a hard stop, not a product feature.

1. The exchange said there will be a transition period during which customers are expected to close open positions and withdraw assets. KuCoin said exact deadlines and detailed instructions will be sent via personal notifications, and that users who have not received such a notice do not need to take any action yet.
2. KuCoin’s parent company is headquartered in the Seychelles. The exchange itself was previously registered there as well, before later changing its jurisdiction to the British Virgin Islands.
3. Former Binance vice president for the CIS, Gleb Kostarev, said in his Telegram channel that Gate could be the next exchange to stop serving Russian users, followed by OKX. He said both platforms continue to serve Russian and Belarusian users despite sanctions.
4. Kostarev also wrote that OKX has “too much tied to regulation in the US and Europe,” and that Bybit will keep fighting for the market, but “only if Russia and Ukraine suddenly agree” — something he called highly questionable.
5. KuCoin is the fourth major crypto exchange to announce it is leaving the Russian market in the past two weeks. Before it, HTX (formerly Huobi), Bitget, and MEXC made similar decisions.