Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has announced restrictions on access from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and entities linked to sanctioned platforms as part of expanded compliance measures.
The exchange stated the move represents a "one-off exercise for certain users" and said affected users will receive direct notifications regarding next steps and withdrawal arrangements. According to reports, at least one user was given until October 21st to exit the platform, though no official deadline was publicly announced.
Sanctioned Platform Bans
Bitget's Chinese subsidiary announced account terminations for any fund flows to or from 20 sanctioned platforms, including BitPapa and NoOnecrypto Inc. The exchange cited the need to "maintain a secure and compliant trading environment."
The flagged entities are the same platforms Binance blacklisted in August and have been flagged by the U.S. Treasury for Iranian links and by the EU for non-compliance. According to Bitget's Head of Greater China Xie Jiayin, the directive went live on October 16th, prohibiting any funds from these platforms from entering Bitget.
Jiayin stated that continued financial transactions with sanctioned platforms would result in account termination and permanent closure, preventing re-registration.
Broader Regulatory Context
Crypto platforms face heightened scrutiny amid geopolitical tensions and regulatory developments. The EU's transitional period for MiCA compliance is ending, while upcoming anti-money laundering rules expected in 2027 are anticipated to intensify industry-wide compliance requirements.
Separately, Bitget experienced $62 million in exchange outflows over the past seven days and over $1.4 billion in outflows over the last 30 days. The exchange suffered a $352 million security breach in late September, which may account for a portion of recent user withdrawals.
