Russia may be about to ban Bitcoin, but Binance wants in

• Binance wants to set up in Russia and use the country to expand to neighboring countries, despite the recent plans to ban crypto in the country.
• Binance regional manager Gleb Kostarev believes that the proposed ban is just an invitation by the government to crypto players for a sit-down.

Russia may be intending to ban cryptocurrencies, but this is doing little to deter the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange from expanding into the country. A top Binance executive says the exchange sees the proposed ban as a chance for a sit-down with the regulators and says getting into Russia will open doors to all the other neighboring nations.

As CNF reported a week ago, the Bank of Russia has proposed a China-like ban on cryptocurrency issuance, trading and mining. This would be a huge blow, especially considering that Russia is the world’s second-largest BTC mining nation after the U.S. While President Vladimir Putin has offered hope that the ban may not happen, it’s still too early to tell how the government is going to swing with crypto.

Not for Binance. The exchange is seeking to get into the Russian market and other neighboring countries “where it sees prospects for new regulations that will boost its business,” a top executive has stated.

In an interview with Reuters, Gleb Kostarev, the Director of Eastern European at Binance said that he believes that the Russian government will not ban cryptos, despite being advised to by the Bank of Russia.

“Our goal is to obtain a license and conduct legal business where the regulation allows,” he told the outlet, adding that such a move would be quite strategic for Binance as it would open up Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and other nations that follow Russia’s cues.

Currently, Russia boasts $5 billion in digital currency trading volume annually on regulated centralized exchanges. It has the potential to do even better if the government decides to legalize the industry, although this is looking more unlikely by the day.

Binance believes that the threat to ban cryptos is just a way for the government to bring in crypto stakeholders for a sit-down. Kostarev stated:

 For now, we consider this as an invitation to dialogue with the regulator.

Russia is quite influential globally, more so in Eastern Europe and Asia where together with India and China, it sets the pace. This is what makes the market ideal for Binance, the director said.

In Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan they are more loyal to cryptocurrencies and are taking steps towards liberalisation, rather than restriction. But local regulators are taking these steps with an eye on Russia.