Approximately 50 clients of a Russian cryptocurrency exchange, Beribit, recently attempted to stage a protest at the company’s office in Moscow. The unrest began on April 26 at the Federation Tower, where the office is located, with clients demanding the return of around 400 million rubles that they were unable to withdraw for several days.

Investors have expressed frustration over funds being “stuck” during withdrawal processes, contrasting with smooth deposit transactions. Efforts by Beribit staff to leave through alternative exits were blocked by angry investors, leading to police intervention. A video circulating on Telegram claimed that disgruntled clients were given chocolates instead of cash as a form of compensation.

According to reports from Mash, a Russian online newspaper, Beribit employees promised to refund 50% of investments immediately, with the remaining balance to be reimbursed within one to 15 days. The exchange announced on its official Telegram channel that recent management changes led to the discovery of balance sheet discrepancies, prompting the initiation of a thorough audit process.

Beribit also stated that clients must undergo KYC/AML verification processes, causing a temporary backlog in deposit and withdrawal requests. Clients who pass the verification successfully will regain unrestricted access to their accounts.

Amidst this turmoil, a bill has been introduced in the State Duma proposing a ban on cryptocurrency exchange operations. The bill, if approved, would not impact crypto transactions or registered mining entities but would ban cryptocurrency advertising. However, some legislators argue that banning exchanges could threaten Russia’s national security, emphasizing cryptocurrency’s role in procuring weapons and defense assets from non-Western sources and circumventing sanctions.

Beribit, a registered cryptocurrency exchange offering ruble-crypto, P2P, USDT, and asset trading services, came under law enforcement scrutiny with office searches conducted in March. This scrutiny coincided with a temporary website outage, reportedly related to investigations surrounding a terrorist incident at Crocus City Hall.

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