Bitget adds Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries to its prohibited jurisdictions list

Bitget has updated its user agreement to place Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and several other countries on its prohibited jurisdictions list. For high-risk operators, the important part is not the label itself but the operating sequence: account notices, a trading cutoff, then forced position closures and access restrictions.

1. According to the updated terms published on Bitget’s website, users from the listed countries will receive notifications about next steps for their accounts. The company also wrote on X that affected clients would be informed of further actions.
2. Interfax reported that, from 10:00 MSK on 18 October, users in the countries on the list will no longer be able to open new trades, place orders or subscribe to platform products. Until that time, they can only manage positions that are already open.
3. Bitget’s messages to clients reportedly advised them to close existing positions and withdraw their crypto before 10:00 MSK on 21 October. After that deadline, the exchange said it will forcibly close remaining positions automatically and restrict access to those accounts.
4. The move lands against a changing Russian crypto framework. This week, the Central Bank of Russia published clarifications saying direct crypto transactions between individuals (P2P) will be banned from 1 July 2027, and such trades will require organizations that facilitate digital currency circulation.
5. Russia’s legal framework for crypto also changed earlier this year: in early August, President Vladimir Putin signed a law legalizing crypto, recognizing digital currencies as property and introducing general rules for their circulation. The law took effect on 1 September, while some provisions start later, including a requirement for crypto exchanges to operate without being entered in the Russian regulator’s register until 1 July 2027 and mandatory verification of crypto buyers’ accounts from 1 September next year.

Bitget itself was already dealing with a separate operational issue. In late September, CEO Gracy Chen said the exchange had suffered a hack that resulted in about $351.6 million being stolen. The platform temporarily suspended withdrawals during a security review and notified law enforcement and blockchain security firms.