Bitget exchange is tightening its compliance and expanding access restrictions to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and several sanctioned platforms. In a statement, the exchange said the move is merely a “one-off exercise for certain users.”
It added that the affected users will receive direct notifications on the next steps and withdrawal arrangements. It didn’t issue any deadline for the exercise, but one reported user claimed that he was given until 21st October to exit the platform.
Bitget bans 20 sanctioned platforms
Separately, the exchange’s Chinese subsidiary announced account terminations for fund flows to or from 20 sanctioned platforms, including BitPapa and NoOnecrypto Inc.
According to Bitget, the restriction is meant to “maintain a secure and compliant trading environment.”
To maintain a secure and compliant trading environment, Bitget will further strengthen controls over digital asset deposit and withdrawal activities involving sanctioned trading platforms and related entities.
These entities were the same ones Binance blacklisted in August and have been flagged by the U.S Treasury for Iranian links and the EU for non-compliance.
Stressing the importance of the guideline, Xie Jiayin, Head of Bitget in Greater China, added,
If you continue to have any financial transactions with sanctioned platforms, your Bitget account services will be terminated, and your account will be closed. Once closed, you will not be able to register again.
According to Jiayin, the directive went live on 16th October, and no funds from these flagged platforms can be allowed into Bitget.
Some users appeared dissatisfied with the move though, especially since the announcement had no regulatory basis for the restriction on its official English channel.
Impact on Bitget exchange flows?
Crypto platforms have seen greater scrutiny in 2026 amid the U.S-Iran war and the EU’s transitional window for MiCA (its crypto regulatory regime) coming to an end.
In particular, Binance is under probe by the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) to verify whether it violated its 2023 plea deal and knowingly facilitated illegal Iranian crypto flows.
In fact, the EU’s upcoming anti-money laundering (AML) rules in 2027 are expected to intensify the compliance crackdown in the industry.
Bitget saw $62M in exchange outflows over the past seven days and over $1.4B in the last 30 days. Here, it’s worth noting that the exchange suffered a $352M hack in late September. So, the +$1.4B may also be part of investor flight after the exploit.
Final Summary
- Bitget has restricted access to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and 20 sanctioned platforms.
- Bitget saw $1.4B in exchange outflows in the last 30 days following a $352M exploit.