Deribit, a cryptocurrency derivatives platform, announced Feb. 5 that European Union (EU) sanctions on Russia have forced it to exit the country. According to Tass news agency, the Panama-based platform will be excluding Russian nationals and residents to comply with the sanctions.

Starting Feb. 17, accounts controlled by Russian residents will be switched to “reduce-only” mode. The mode allows Russian users with open positions to continue trading but bars the opening of new positions. However, on March 29, all Russian accounts with open positions will be forcibly closed, but withdrawals will remain open. In a statement explaining its decision, Deribit said:

“Due to EU sanctions against Russia, Deribit is no longer able to accept Russian nationals and Russian residents as its clients, unless an exception applies. Since Deribit’s parent company is Dutch, these EU sanctions are relevant to us.”

EU sanctions, imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, bar Europe-based cryptocurrency entities from serving Russian nationals or legal entities, according to Tass. The restrictions apply to all Russians except those who are nationals of a European Economic Area (EEA) member country or Switzerland, or who permanently reside in the EEA or Switzerland.

By exiting the Russian market, Deribit joins Binance, which was similarly forced to leave in 2023. EU sanctions rules state that individuals who deliberately violate sanctions may face a minimum of five years’ imprisonment. Companies can be held criminally or non-criminally liable, with maximum fines of at least 5% of the company’s worldwide turnover or $41.5 million (€40 million), whichever is higher.

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