Major crypto exchanges allow sanctioned Russian banks to transact: Report

Two major crypto exchanges still allow customers of sanctioned Russian banks to transact on their platforms, according to a report from digital asset data analytics firm Inca Digital.

Huobi and KuCoin enable people to trade crypto using debit cards issued by sanctioned Russian banks like Sberbank, the report found. Inca Digital Chief Executive Officer Adam Zarazinski said in an interview that this could be a violation of US and European sanctions and that the transactions often involve Tether, a stablecoin that has faced its own scrutiny from regulators.

“Tether is frequently used by Russians to move money out of the country,” he said. “It is absolutely used by these two exchanges in particular to provide crypto banking services to sanctioned Russian banks.”