Ukraine temporarily suspended the use of its national currency, the hryvnia, via banking cards for fiat deposits and withdrawals on crypto exchanges. While the move immediately impacted how investors move funds to and from exchanges, Binance reminded users about how peer-to-peer (P2P) services come in handy when trading cryptocurrencies.
Following the temporary suspension from Ukraine’s central bank, crypto exchanges like Binance and Kuna made official announcements informing investors about the inconvenience. Michael Chobanian, the founder of local crypto exchange Kuna, acknowledged the service disruption. However, he said he would explain the nuances of the development later.
Kuna founder Michael Chobanian recommends Bitcoin as Ukraine halts hryvnia use on crypto exchanges. Source: Telegram
Chobanian further pointed out how such regulatory decisions have no impact on the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem and added that:
“Regarding the hryvnia card and input/output to the exchange. Yes, it doesn’t work … We are looking for ways out of the situation, under the threat of stopping the entire Ukrainian crypto/card UAH market [translation].”
Binance acknowledged the problem as regulators suspended the use of hryvnia on crypto exchanges. However, Binance had an alternative solution:
“We suggest using the P2P service so that you can continue to use Binance comfortably.”
The crypto exchange utilized the occasion to inform users that P2P services allow users to exchange crypto and fiat currencies directly with other users without needing a middle-person like banks.
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Ukraine’s anti-crypto stance comes as a shock considering the country netted over $70 million in crypto donations since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Cryptocurrencies donated to Ukraine wallets provided by the Ukrainian government. Source: Chainalysis
“If we used the traditional financial system, it was going to take days […] We were able to secure the purchase of vital items in no time at all via crypto, and what is amazing is that around 60% of suppliers were able to accept crypto, I didn’t expect this,” said Ukrainian deputy digital minister Alex Bornyakov on Feb. 24.