Representations of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, DogeCoin, Ripple, and Litecoin can be seen in front of a displayed Binance logo in this illustration taken on June 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo

On Wednesday, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced it will sell its Russia business to newly-launched exchange CommEX. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, and the company will not have any ongoing revenue split or maintain an option to buy back shares in the business.

Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman of Binance stated, “As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance’s compliance strategy.” All the assets of its existing Russian users are safe, and there will be an orderly process for the migration of users. The divestment process is expected to take up to one year.

CommEX is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange backed by crypto venture capitalists, according to its website. It launched its exchange on Tuesday, but did not respond to a request for comment on the Binance deal.

Many Western companies have agreed to sell their Russian assets or hand them over to local managers in order to comply with sanctions over the war in Ukraine and deal with threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized.

Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru and editing by Savio D’Souza and Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Acquire Licensing Rights.