Bitcoin Exchange

‘VPN is a Necessity’ – Binance DEX Will Not GeoBlock Anyone, Says CZ

Emilio Janus | Jun 03, 2019 | 07:00

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Following some confusion over whether the Binance DEX operates a geoblocking policy, CZ clarified that, as a blockchain, “it can’t.”

Ain’t Nobody Got Time To Read That

The uncertainty arose over a pop-up which appeared when accessing the Binance website a number of countries, including the US.

Maybe it was the long list of countries that put people off reading it properly, but it basically said this:

• We can see that you have an IP address from one of these countries.
• From 1st July you won’t be able to access the wallet interface through Binance.org with such an IP address.
• Click here for alternatives and solutions.

The key points to have noted here were: 1/ it is only the wallet interface through Binance.org that can’t be accessed, and 2/ only if you have an IP address from one of the specified countries.

So How Are We Gonna Get Around That Then?

There are two notable ways of addressing this information.

Firstly, we could use one of an ever growing number of wallets, which support direct trading on the Binance DEX. That way we don’t need to access the wallet interface through Binance.org.

Wallets which support direct trading include: Trust wallet, ZelCore, CoolWallet, MathWallet, Infinito, Coinomi, Magnum wallet, and Ellipal.

The other option… for not having an IP address from a particular country… anyone? Oh yeah, you could use a VPN.

In fact, as pointed out by Binance head honcho Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, anyone who is serious about their security online should be using a VPN as a matter of course.

“VPNs is a necessity, not optional,” noted Zhao.

VPNs is a necessity, not optional.

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) June 3, 2019

The one thing you probably shouldn’t do with this information, is panic, and start spreading FUD about blockchains being geoblocked.

Binance DEX Benefits From Bitcoin Price Gains

Binance launched its decentralised exchange (DEX) ahead of schedule in mid-April, with CZ making the first transaction.

Binance coin (BNB) 00 on which’s blockchain the DEX is built, has been performing very well as a result. It was topping the chart of altcoin gains for the year so far, by a large margin.

That is, until Harmony outperformed it, after becoming the first token to trade on both Binance and the Binance DEX.

Most altcoins have mirrored Bitcoin’s price gains since the start of April, when ‘crypto winter’ started to thaw.

The list of territories affected by the geoblocking through Binance.org (not the DEX) are: USA, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Burma, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Cote D’Ivoire, the Crimea region of Ukraine, Croatia, Cuba, Herzegovina, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

Will Binance DEX be able to provide users with an uncensorable trading experience? Share your thoughts below!

Images via Shutterstock