Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are buzzing at news that Binance has made its exit from Russia, selling its operations to a nascent local exchange, known as CommEx. Despite the promise of a seamless transfer, Binance has not offered much insight on its Russian successor; leaving the crypto community speculating on the background and origins of CommEx.
CommEx made its debut on September 26, 2023, a mere day prior to Binance making public its sale to this fresh-faced exchange. The spokesperson for the new company remains mum about its administration or ownership, and the cryptic statement that CommEx is registered in Seychelles and plans to serve clientele from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Asian regions hasn’t helped temper the curiosity.
On the tech side, CommEx currently only supports a browser version, but a promise of a mobile app is in the pipeline. A feather in its cap is the early listing on CoinMarketCap, a prominent crypto tracking website that is already under Binance’s purview – we should remember Binance acquired another major market tracker, CoinGecko, back in April 2020.
A deeper dive reveals that CommEx debuted with 25 trading pairs, including stablecoins like Tether and Binance’s own BNB cryptocurrency. Their ambitious vision is to expand rapidly as a cryptocurrency exchange, with the backing of key crypto VCs. CommEx’s initial roll-out will focus on peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions in Russia, giving users the freedom to trade crypto without engaging the platform’s fiat channels.
Now, here’s the skeptical part: although the Binance representative assured that switching to CommEx from Binance is optional for users, the official word in Russia is that any KYC’d new user registration will be diverted to CommEx. This seemingly forced migration and Binance’s decision to phase out all exchange services and business lines in Russia has caused certain ripple effects.
Speculation is rampant amongst the local crypto dorm, with observers drawing similarities between the layouts of Binance and CommEx’s websites. Some have even gone to the extent of calling CommEx a full replica of the Binance’s site. Others note that even the privacy notices of both platforms bear uncanny resemblances.
Without further official clarification, the crypto community would be well-advised to proceed judiciously. Balancing our excitement at the promises of a new player like CommEx with the echoing remnants of Binance’s legacy in Russia could well be key.
Source: Cointelegraph
