KuCoin ends all services for customers in Russia and Belarus, the third major exchange to pull out this month after MEXC and Bitget

KuCoin is leaving Russia and Belarus. In a statement on Thursday, October 29, the exchange said it is ending all of its products and services for customers there with immediate effect, according to CoinDesk. KuCoin cited compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and did not name a specific sanction or rule. Customers will be notified individually of deadlines to close positions and withdraw their assets, and The Moscow Times says users who receive no notice need not act. KuCoin did not say how many customers are affected, though the Moscow Times puts its user base at about 45 million worldwide.

The Moscow Times describes KuCoin as the third major trading platform to announce such restrictions this month, after Bitget and MEXC. CoinDesk reports MEXC stopped serving users in Russia and Belarus on October 20. BestChange analyst Nikita Zuborev linked the withdrawals to rising compliance costs and the risk of secondary sanctions, the Moscow Times reports.

KuCoin has its own regulatory history. CoinDesk notes it agreed in January 2025 to pay nearly $300 million after pleading guilty to running an unlicensed money-transmitting business in the United States.