2026-1-27 13:06 |
Russian authorities have officially designated cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT and its parent firm W Group as “undesirable organisations,” citing their alleged financial and logistical support for Ukraine’s defence infrastructure.
The announcement, made Monday by the Prosecutor General’s Office, enforces a complete ban on WhiteBIT’s operations within Russia.
Under the ruling, both companies are barred from maintaining bank accounts, processing transactions, or offering services to Russian residents.
Any association with them now constitutes a criminal offence under Russian law.
Authorities accused the platform of aiding capital outflows through what they described as “gray schemes” and flagged its cooperation with Ukrainian state-affiliated entities.
Russian prosecutors further alleged that the exchange had provided technical and financial support to initiatives backing Ukraine’s military, including donations totalling $11 million in 2022.
The same figure is also listed on WhiteBIT’s website.
Of that amount, $900,000 was purportedly allocated for the purchase of drone systems, according to the Russian side.
Russian officials further tied the exchange to United24, the crypto fundraising initiative launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Even before the designation, WhiteBIT had already prohibited Russian users, including residents of occupied Ukrainian territories, under its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policy.
The firm cites adherence to European Union sanctions imposed on Russia following the 2022 invasion.
WhiteBIT, which was founded in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by entrepreneur Volodymyr Nosov, now operates out of Vilnius, Lithuania, and recently launched a crypto trading platform tailored to US markets.
Last year, it opened new offices in New York as part of its global expansion roadmap.
Despite the ban, the platform handled over $1.1 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, per CoinGecko data.
Russia targets Ukraine’s crypto effortsThe blacklist is the latest escalation in Russia’s legal campaign targeting crypto entities that it sees as undermining its geopolitical and financial controls.
The “undesirable” label is the Kremlin’s most severe legal mechanism, used to criminalise any domestic interaction with a company.
Previous targets include not only exchanges but also politically affiliated organisations and crypto donors.
Kuna, a Ukrainian exchange closely tied to the $100 million “Crypto Fund for Ukraine,” has also come under pressure.
Although not formally banned, Kuna’s services are blocked in Russia, and its wallets are actively monitored.
The exchange’s founder, Michael Chobanian, has been vocal in calling for Russian exclusion from crypto markets.
Russian authorities have also pursued individual users under anti-extremism and treason laws.
In a notable case from 2025, a citizen from Yakutsk was sentenced to seven years in prison for transferring crypto to Ukraine’s armed forces, which prosecutors argued was tantamount to aiding an enemy military.
Over the past years, the Kremlin has also targeted crypto businesses with the motive of curbing capital flight and digital dissent.
At the same time, it has promoted state-aligned alternatives like the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, which is reportedly designed to bypass international restrictions while keeping capital flows under domestic oversight.
The post Russia blacklists WhiteBIT over claims of financial support for Ukraine appeared first on Invezz
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