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Binance P2P removes sanctioned Russian banks from payment list

Binance removed its “yellow” and “green” payment options from its peer-to-peer (P2P) service on August 25 after it was criticized for using these codewords to represent sanctioned Russian banks, as confirmed by Cointelegraph.

Payment method searches for color-themed code words yield no results. Source: Binance

Binance’s peer-to-peer exchange service is a message board that allows users to make offers to buy or sell cryptocurrencies. It also works as a crypto deposit service. However, unlike Binance’s main exchange, fiat payments are handled by users and fiat money does not go through Binance’s servers.

on August 22, Wall Street Magazine He reported that Binance has listed sanctioned Russian banks such as Tinkoff and Rosbank as the transfer method. This has sparked criticism that Binance may be violating sanctions by supporting such banks as a payment method.
On August 24, several Russian media outlets began reporting that Binance had removed these banks from the list of payment methods. However, such banks reappeared as code words “yellow” and “green” represent “yellow” Tinkoff and “green” Rosbank.
in the Wall Street Journal Aug. reported It was stated that the banks that were subject to sanctions were removed from the list. In the report, a Binance spokesperson said that banks were removed after the exchange learned that account holders were using the service to circumvent sanctions. “We regularly update our systems to ensure compliance with local and global regulatory standards,” the spokesperson said. When deficiencies are reported to us, we try to correct them as soon as possible.”

On the same day, Cointelegraph confirmed that the “yellow” and “green” payment methods have been removed. Sixteen payment methods are still available for converting Russian rubles to cryptocurrencies, including Raiffeisenbank, Russian Standard Bank, Payeer, AdvCash and others. However, Tinkoff and Rosbank are no longer listed as their code equivalents.

Despite their official removal, Cointelegraph noted that Binance P2P users continue to advertise sales with “green bank” as their payment method. These users list other payment methods such as Russian Standard Bank or Ak Bars Bank in the ‘payment method’ field, but then make it clear in their ‘advertiser terms’ that they will only accept transfers using a ‘green bank’.

User posts a transaction on Binance P2P requesting payment to “green bank only”. Source: Binance

This way, users will be able to continue using Binance P2P to sell cryptocurrencies via authorized payment methods.
Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency markets have sparked controversy since their inception. Supporters say such markets are necessary to avoid government censorship of payments, while opponents say they are used by criminals to transfer funds illegally.
One of the most popular peer-to-peer marketplaces before 2023 was LocalBitcoins. But earlier this year disabled and several users have moved to Binance P2P.
Paxful co-founder Ray Youssef argued on August 25 that P2P marketplaces are still too centralized and vulnerable to government shutdowns. Youssef is working on a new marketplace called “Civ Kit” and says it will be much harder for governments to shut it down.

Translation of Walter Rizzo

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