Binance Limits Visibility in Iran Due to US Sanctions

Binance is set to “limit the visibility” of its crypto services in Iran due to sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran. On the other hand, there is uncertainty about whether Binance should comply with the sanctions.

Cryptocurrency trading platform Binance has facilitated nearly $8 billion worth of transactions for Iranian users since 2018, according to crypto analysts at Chainalysis. reports Reuters. This would potentially violate United States sanctions; the US is trying to keep Iran out of the international financial system with financial sanctions.

Binance, however, suggested in a statement to Reuters that it should not be subject to these sanctions: “Binance.com is not a US company, unlike other platforms that are still allowed to trade with sanctioned entities. Nevertheless, we have taken proactive actions to prevent our visibility in the Iranian market is decreasing.”

It is not clear exactly what actions the platform has taken and whether this is possibly sufficient as far as the US Department of Justice is concerned. The government body imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 and Binance has been under investigation for possible money laundering since then, according to Reuters sources. The platform was banned in the United States in 2019. It is not clear to what extent the investigation is politically motivated and whether any evidence has been found against the platform.

Due to the ban, Binance founded a US counterpart to the crypto trading platform in 2019 called Binance.US. In the statement, the platform implicitly refers to this branch, which should adhere to sanctions in the US. The acts in Iran, on the other hand, are said to have been carried out by the international branch, so that the company is probably not subject to the sanctions. The current investigation should determine whether, and if so to what extent, Binance has violated US sanctions.