INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ukraine's cryptocurrency sector has been hit by Russian invasionHaving evacuated part of his team from Kyiv, Mike Chobanian, boss of
cryptocurrency exchange Kuna, is watching the effects of Russia's invasion on his flourishing industry with a weary eye."Business is
running, but we're in survival mode over here," the 37-year-old boss said during a video call from his current refuge after leaving the
it is still facilitating global fundraising efforts, albeit through an opaque decentralised system that Russia could also exploit to
Ukrainian accounts in recent weeks.Worried about rising tensions, locals were buying up stablecoins, the dollar-backed electronic currencies
often criticised by Western regulators for their opacity."Bitcoin, you engage yourself in gambling, you don't know if it's going to go up
from around the world, it's not dependent on the banking system, it's more transparent because it's a blockchain
It's a better option," said Mr Chobanian.This enthusiasm is not completely shared by the Ukrainian government.On the communication site
UkraineNOW, the ministry of defence calls for donations via bank transfers, but specifies that "national legislation does not allow the
ministry of defence of Ukraine to use other payment systems ('Webmoney', 'Bitcoin', 'PayPal', etc.)."And the same decentralised network that
ecosystem can put measures in place to identify transactions from identified sanctioned entities," she said.This could mainly be achieved by
