Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced on Thursday that it will begin accepting clients from Syria.
The company said that the lifting of US sanctions on the country last month means it no longer has to prohibit access to its services for clients from the country.
“Now that sanctions have been suspended, the Syrian community can finally act on that interest,” the exchange wrote. “At Binance, we believe financial freedom should be for everyone, and we’re proud to offer real solutions that support Syria’s economic recovery and help grow its digital economy, in line with international efforts and applicable regulations.”
In its statement, the crypto exchange said that it will begin offering spot crypto, derivatives products, staking, payments and other features to traders in Syria. Binance will also accept the Syrian pound on its P2P service. This lets users exchange cryptocurrencies with other users directly.
Syria a top 10 country for crypto searches
According to Binance, Syria has been one of the most active countries in crypto search queries online for several years now, with the country’s residents in the top 10 for those queries globally.
That would fit with a trend we see globally, with countries that face capital controls, sanctions, and/or inflation have tended to exhibit more interest in crypto.
For example, SimilarWeb data shows that the top five countries visiting Binance at the moment are South Korea, Ukraine, Vietnam, Brazil, and Turkey.
All of those countries have capital controls, with Turkey also experiencing high levels of inflation.
Crypto is one way of getting around these controls and can give regular people access to the dollar via stablecoins.
