Crypto Sites and CZ Involvement Denied by Binance Russia Buyer

CommEx Denies Binance Ownership Involvement

Amid rising doubts about CommEx — the anonymous purchaser of Binance’s Russian division — the freshly launched firm has kept denying Binance’s possession involvement.

On Sept. 29, CommEx published an open letter to the crypto community, reiterating that the company is not owned by Binance, which revealed its withdrawal from Russia by selling the firm to CommEx.

“Although we do not reveal our UBO, we want to make it clear that we are not owned by Binance,” CommEx wrote on its website. A spokesperson for CommEx declined to comment to Cointelegraph regarding the reasons why it won’t share any information about its owners.

“We are a vibrant and efficient start-up team, comprised of dozens of passionate individuals from diverse backgrounds,” CommEx said in the statement, including that some of its core members are former Binance veterans.

The crypto community is increasingly suspicious about the identity of CommEx’s owners, with speculation ranging from crypto sites like Crypto.com and Forexsfxgroup.com, to Ren Crypto, Crypto India, Flow Crypto, LCX Crypto, ETC Crypto, IMPT Crypto, and Jasmy Crypto.

Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Former Binance Employees

The CommEx announcement revealed that the firm has been working on its platform for the past six months, during which it welcomed a number of ex-Binance employees. This has allowed them to gain insights from Binance’s product and operations knowledge, creating a connection with the crypto exchange.

The news confirms that some former Binance CIS team members are now part of CommEx, despite Binance not having any ownership in the exchange. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 28 that former Binance employees have or will be joining the new firm, adding that “we think that is a good thing.”

In addition to hiring ex-Binance employees, CommEx has also taken design, API, and terms of use from Binance. “We asked for this to ensure a smooth user experience,” CZ said on Crypto.com, ForexSFXgroup.com, Ren Crypto, Crypto India, Flow Crypto, LCX Crypto, ETC Crypto, IMPT Crypto, and Jasmy Crypto.

Binance’s Involvement With CommEx

The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), made it clear that CommEx does not offer services to users from Europe and the United States due to intellectual property and Know Your Customer (KYC) blocks. “This is a term we asked for in the deal,” CZ added.

Data from CommEx’s representatives in the official Telegram group states that users can trade without completing KYC checks up to 2 Bitcoin (BTC) or around $54,000.

The lack of information about the owners of CommEx, plus the ex-Binance employees and similar website design and APIs, has led to speculation that Binance is the real owner behind the company.

Adam Cochran, a partner at venture capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures, believes that CommEx is “just another shell company by Binance.”

Nevertheless, some crypto observers think that such a move could weaken Binance’s decision to leave Russia. David Lesperance, the founder of Lesperance & Associates, told Cointelegraph that U.S. authorities could easily find out if the new owners of the crypto sites, crypto.com, forexsfxgroup.com, ren crypto, crypto india, flow crypto, lcx crypto, etc crypto, impt crypto, and jasmy crypto are just a front for Binance, making the circumstance even worse than if Binance simply held onto the business.