EXMO.com has announced that it is beginning an orderly wind-down of its cryptocurrency trading platform after being targeted by UK financial sanctions. The company said it disputes the measures but is cooperating with the relevant authorities while it manages the impact on its operations and users.
The situation stems from a decision on 26 May 2026 by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to add EXMO Exchange Limited to its Russia sanctions list. The designation formed part of a broader package that included 17 other entities and individuals such as HTX (formerly Huobi), Bitpapa and Rapira Group. UK authorities described the package as targeting the "A7 network", a group of crypto and banking infrastructure providers accused of helping fund Russia's war economy. EXMO was characterised as an exchange popular among Russian-speaking traders.
Impact of Sanctions on EXMO.com and User Assets
According to EXMO.com, the sanctions have led to a freeze on a portion of user assets held with third-party custodians, exchanges and banking providers. As a result, the platform has immediately halted new account registrations, new deposits and the opening of new trading positions. The exchange stated that 29.4% of its total obligations to users cannot currently be returned.
EXMO.com attributes this 29.4% shortfall to two factors. The first is unrecovered funds stemming from a hack of its hot wallets in December 2020. The second is the new asset freezes imposed by custodial, banking and payment providers following the May 2026 sanctions. The company has not provided a breakdown of the relative size of these two components but said they collectively account for the gap between user claims and available assets.
Introduction of USDRecover Token and Wind-Down Process
To address the shortfall, EXMO.com has applied a 29.4% proportional deduction to every client balance on the platform. In place of the deducted amounts, the exchange has issued a new token called USDRecover (USDRec). The token is described as representing a debt claim on any assets the company may recover in the future from the hacked or frozen funds.
USDRecover cannot be traded or withdrawn from the platform. EXMO.com indicated that the token serves solely as an accounting instrument to reflect users' claims on any future recoveries. The platform will remain online for a limited period, during which clients will be able to withdraw the remaining portion of their funds that is not affected by the 29.4% deduction or external freezes.
The exchange emphasised that it is cooperating with UK authorities in relation to the sanctions and the associated asset freezes, even as it contests the designation. No timeline was provided for the completion of the wind-down or for any potential asset recovery linked to the USDRecover token.
