Ukraine has temporarily suspended the use of its national currency, the hryvnia, through banking cards for fiat deposits and withdrawals on crypto exchanges. While the move directly affects the way investors move funds to and from the exchange, Binance is reminding users how peer-to-peer (P2P) services are useful when trading cryptocurrencies.
Following the temporary suspension from the Ukrainian central bank, crypto exchanges like Binance and Kuna made official announcements informing investors of the inconvenience. Michael Chobanian, the founder of the local crypto exchange Kuna, acknowledged the disruption of the service. However, he said he would explain the nuances of the development later.
Chobanian further pointed out how the regulatory decision has no impact on the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem and added:
“Regarding the hryvnia card and input / output to the exchange. Yes, it is not possible … We are looking for a way out of the situation, with the threat of stopping the UAH crypto / Ukrainian card market. [translation].”
Binance acknowledged the problem as regulators suspended the use of the hryvnia on crypto exchanges. However, Binance has an alternative solution:
“We recommend using P2P services so you can continue to use Binance comfortably.”
Crypto exchanges use the opportunity to inform users that P2P services allow users to exchange crypto and fiat currencies directly with other users without the need for middlemen like banks.
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Ukraine’s anti-crypto stance is a surprise as the country has received over $70 million in crypto donations since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“If we use the traditional financial system, it will take a few days […] We can secure the purchase of important things quickly through crypto, and what is surprising is that about 60% of providers can accept crypto, I did not expect this,” said Ukraine’s deputy digital minister Alex Bornyakov. on February 24.