Bitget Names Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan as Prohibited Jurisdictions, Bans 20 Sanctioned Platforms
Published October 18, 2026, 12:05 PM PKT. Based on Bitget's Terms of Use updated October 16, 2026 (primary source), Bitget's October 17, 2026 announcement (primary source), Blockonomi's October 17, 2026 coverage (secondary source), AMBCrypto's October 17, 2026 coverage (secondary source), and customer notices reported by the Russian news agency Interfax (secondary source).
Bitget has named the countries behind its "one-off exercise" to discontinue services for selected customers. The exchange's English Terms of Use, marked as updated on October 16, 2026, list Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan among the prohibited jurisdictions for residents and operators, according to coverage by Blockonomi. The update answers the central question left open by Bitget's October 17 announcement, which MABOnChain reported the same day, when the exchange disclosed no criteria, no country list and no reason for the account offboarding.
Under the terms, restricted persons include individuals residing in those places and entities established or operating there, and they cannot register for accounts or use the exchange's services, Blockonomi reported. Bitget's official support account cited the same country list when asked about restrictions on Russian users, attributing the move to compliance with regulations across various countries without identifying a specific law or regulatory order, according to The Defiant reporting cited by Blockonomi.
The October 21 cutoff
Each affected customer is receiving an individual deadline. Bitget said affected users would be contacted by email, in-app message and/or push notification, with the next steps, the relevant deadlines and the arrangements for withdrawing assets, and that its support team would help with outstanding orders. Notices reported by Interfax indicate some customers have only a few days to close positions and withdraw their crypto before access is restricted. One user posting as FrontMan said on October 16 that his notification set October 21 as the end of service for his account, according to moneycheck.com reporting cited by Blockonomi. Bitget described the action as a one-off exercise and said customer funds remain safe.
Twenty sanctioned platforms banned
Separately, Bitget's Chinese arm moved against the sanctioned platforms themselves. It said it will terminate accounts that send funds to or receive funds from 20 sanctioned platforms, naming BitPapa and NoOnecrypto Inc., according to AMBCrypto. "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," the exchange said.
The directive went live on October 16, and no funds from the flagged platforms can be allowed into Bitget, said Xie Jiayin, Head of Bitget in Greater China. "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," Jiayin said, according to AMBCrypto. The named entities were the same ones Binance blacklisted in August, and have been flagged by the US Treasury for Iranian links and by the EU for non-compliance, AMBCrypto reported.
Outflows and the September breach
The crackdown comes against the backdrop of Bitget's September 24 wallet breach. The exchange revised the transfers to attacker-controlled addresses to roughly $387.5 million, up from an initial $351.6 million estimate, and brought in Mandiant and SlowMist to assist the investigation, Blockonomi reported. Bitget has not connected the account terminations to the attack.
Market data underlines the pressure on the exchange. AMBCrypto reported $62 million in exchange outflows over the past seven days and more than $1.4 billion over the past 30 days, citing CoinMarketCap figures, noting the outflow total may partly reflect investor flight after the exploit. The compliance push also lands in a year of wider scrutiny: AMBCrypto noted exchanges faced intensified oversight in 2026 as the EU's transitional window for its MiCA crypto regime winds down, and that Binance is under a US Department of Justice probe over whether it violated its 2023 plea deal by facilitating Iranian crypto flows.
This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.
Sources
- Bitget, October 16-17, 2026, primary source: English Terms of Use marked as updated October 16, 2026 list Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan among prohibited jurisdictions for residents and operators; restricted persons include individuals residing in those places and entities established or operating there, and cannot register for accounts or use the services; October 17, 2026 announcement that the exchange will discontinue services for a selected group of customers as a "one-off exercise," with each affected account receiving individual deadlines and withdrawal arrangements by email, in-app message and/or push notification; customer funds remain safe; official support account cited the country list and compliance with regulations across various countries without naming a specific law or order
- Blockonomi, October 17, 2026, secondary source: terms updated October 16 list Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan as prohibited jurisdictions for residents and operators; restricted persons definition and registration ban; individual notices with no shared deadline; Interfax-reported notices giving customers only a few days to close positions and withdraw crypto; user "FrontMan" posted October 16 that his notice set an October 21 end of service (via moneycheck.com); support compliance reply per The Defiant; revised breach transfers of roughly $387.5 million versus the initial $351.6 million estimate; Mandiant and SlowMist assisting the investigation; the September 25 security update identified and repaired the vulnerability; no link drawn between the terminations and the attack
- AMBCrypto, October 17, 2026, secondary source: Bitget's Chinese arm will terminate accounts with fund flows to or from 20 sanctioned platforms including BitPapa and NoOnecrypto Inc.; quote "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"; Xie Jiayin, Head of Bitget in Greater China, said the directive went live on October 16 and warned "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"; the same entities were blacklisted by Binance in August and flagged by the US Treasury for Iranian links and by the EU for non-compliance; $62 million in exchange outflows over seven days and over $1.4 billion over 30 days (CoinMarketCap figures); intensified 2026 oversight as the EU's MiCA transitional window ends; Binance under US Department of Justice probe over its 2023 plea deal and alleged Iranian crypto flows
- Interfax, secondary source: customer notices for the Bitget offboarding indicate a few days to close positions and withdraw cryptocurrency before access is restricted, as reported via Blockonomi
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