- The limitations are said to be in place in the nation for the time being.
- The Ukrainian parliament passed the law in its second reading in mid-February.
Though Ukraine’s government has officially approved Bitcoin (BTC), some major Ukrainian banks have allegedly blocked their customers from using their national currency to acquire BTC. For example, Forklog, an industry newsletter, said that Ukraine’s biggest commercial bank, PrivatBank, has temporarily prohibited its clients from acquiring Bitcoin using the national currency, the hryvnia (UAH).
Cryptocurrency Limitations
It is said that the current limits on PrivatBank are in accordance with an order issued by the National Bank of Ukraine. The limitations are said to be in place in the nation for the time being. Binance’s Ukrainian subsidiary had claimed earlier on Wednesday that PrivatBank had imposed cryptocurrency limitations.
On Facebook, Binance Ukraine announced:
“We would like to inform you that PrivatBank will not support operations with UAH on all crypto exchanges with no exception starting from March 2022.”
Other banks may follow suit; thus, Binance urged its consumers to utilize its peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange service. In addition, several rumours have shown that PrivatBank has stopped allowing its customers to buy cryptocurrency. Yet, at least some big Ukrainian crypto exchanges still allow BTC purchases using UAH.
PrivatBank has made many efforts to maintain financial stability under martial rule, including granting credit holidays and raising withdrawal restrictions, according to the bank’s official website. However, numerous users reported that their bank accounts were blocked in late February because they were linked to P2P crypto exchanges like LocalBitcoins.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine signed a measure on Wednesday establishing the legal foundation for the country’s crypto market regulation. The Ukrainian parliament passed the law in its second reading in mid-February, and the Ukrainian administration was working hard to implement it.
