The BingX exchange clearly supports Iranian users, defying sanctions

BingX crypto exchange allows sanctioned Iranian users to bypass restrictions.

The exchange clearly displays the Iranian version of its website, and its officials issued a statement in Farsi on the exchange's official Telegram group.

According to one translation of the sentence, “Bing X exchange has no problem with Iranian users, and can be verified even with a national card.”

The exchange allows an interface for exchanging Iranian Rials to Tether (USDT), which is prohibited by the United States Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations.

In another post in the official BingX Discord, a user asked “are there any restrictions on registering from Iran” regarding the platform's authentication. “It should be fine…” replied a BingX representative: “Just follow the instructions on your registration.”

Iran It has been subject to various sanctions since 1979. The United States and the United Nations have accused the country of violating various international laws, including seizing assets of American companies, financing terrorism, and enriching uranium to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has denied these claims.

The sanctions generally bar Iranian residents from using centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, and those exchanges risk being banned from US and international markets if they do business with Iranians.

According to the OFAC report, foreign financial institutions risk “variable and compensatory account sanctions and restrictions” when they identify or facilitate transactions involving the purchase or sale of Iranian rials.

However, on the BingX exchange, the Iranian Rial – an OFAC-approved currency – appears to be directly exchanged for other crypto assets.

According to CoinMarketCap data, BingX facilitates more than $974 million in daily transactions. This makes it one of the top 20 crypto exchanges in the world.

According to the information obtained from the official website, the exchange is a financial services company registered in the Republic of Lithuania, which gives it a license to do business in the European Union. It is also licensed as a digital currency exchange in Australia and operates from Singapore.

Like all international financial institutions, entities in Australia and Lithuania must comply with US OFAC sanctions and any sanctions imposed by their home countries or the EU on Iran.

However, despite such requirements, the exchange publicly requests Iran-based users on its social channels and official website. Prior to November 2021, the exchange was known as Bingo.

BingX was founded by Josh Lu in 2018 and claims to serve more than 10 million users. The nationality of the current founder is unknown.

According to another BingX representative, “Iran is on the list of restricted countries. However, “this does not mean a ban on providing services,” he added, adding that the exchange will offer Iranian Rial services and “Did you know you can buy and sell Tether with Rials on Bing X?”

BingX is not the only licensed cryptocurrency exchange caught up in the sanctions against Iranian users.

In the year In July 2022, Reuters reported that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was serving Iranian citizens. At the time, Binance denied the claim, stating that it “strictly” complies with the sanctions requirements.

In the year In November 2023, the exchange agreed to a $4.5 billion plea deal with the US Department of Justice and the US Treasury, admitting that it failed to maintain an effective policy against money laundering. Its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

In May 2023, crypto exchange Poloniex also paid OFAC $7.6 million in fines for failing to re-verify users from Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria for alleged Know Your Customer controls.

Apr 12 2024 9:40 PM UTC Update: Added screenshot from BingX Discord

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