According to a report by the analytical company Inca Digital, the Huobi and KuCoin exchanges did not block traders from Russia and their transactions with debit cards of sanctioned Russian banks.

According to Inca Digital, the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchanges Huobi and KuCoin did not heed the demands of the US and EU countries to block debit transactions made using international bank cards issued by sanctioned Russian financial institutions. Exchanges continue to allow traders to transact with debit cards, including Sberbank cards, on their peer-to-peer platforms.

Inca Digital CEO Adam Zarazinski said in an interview with the media that the largest number of Russian transactions are made in tandem with the stablecoin Tether (USDT).

“Russians often use Tether stablecoins to withdraw money from the country. It is absolutely used by these two exchanges, in particular, to provide cryptocurrency banking services to Russian banks under sanctions,” said the head of Inca Digital.

Zarazinski said that Inca plans to publish an extended report soon, which includes observations on the activities of another 62 cryptocurrency exchanges popular with Russian traders. He noted that some of these exchanges do not require Russians to pass KYC checks when making transactions.

In December last year, the Bank of Russia allowed issuers of digital financial assets (DFAs) not to report until July 1, 2023, critical information that could later be used to impose sanctions on financial institutions.