Cryptocurrency exchanges in Ukraine are in the crosshairs of the National Bank

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has launched an audit of payment systems and local crypto businesses. This became known from a document sent by the regulator to companies. The excerpt was published by Mykhailo Chobanyan on his Telegram channel, citing Strana.UA, a pro-Russian propaganda outlet that has been operating freely in Ukraine for a long time:

«Yes, there was indeed such a request from the market. What are your guesses as to the purpose of such information gathering?» — chobanyan wrote.

According to the document, the National Bank of Ukraine requires four Ukrainian cryptocurrency companies to provide financial statements within seven days. They include Kuna crypto exchange, crypto processing provider CoinPay, peer-to-peer payment platform GEO Pay, and Qmall.

The financial regulator demanded that crypto companies provide data on transaction volumes, as well as on acceptance and transfer of funds. The NBU also obliged the platforms to provide statements for all accounts from the beginning of 2023. The reason for the inspection is unclear. Kuna founder Mykhailo Chobanyan confirmed that the NBU had received the request, but also did not specify the reasons.

Participants in the local crypto market have different assumptions as to why the National Bank of Ukraine has taken on local crypto companies. Some believe that the NBU wants to become a «regulator and monopolist» as part of Ukraine’s transition to the standards of the European cryptocurrency directive MiCA. Others believe that the financial regulator continues to fight the withdrawal of digital assets to online casino accounts.

As a reminder, since March, Ukrainian banks have stopped processing requests to withdraw cryptocurrency into hryvnia and vice versa. At the time, many media outlets speculated that the crypto market could have been subjected to repressions related to the Ukrainian government’s fight against gambling.

It should be added that in the spring, the founder of the Kuna crypto exchange announced the death of the crypto market in Ukraine: «There is a dialog, but no result. Therefore, we can probably say that the cryptocurrency market in Ukraine is dead. I mean, the legal one. Only the cash market will remain. All companies that have been operating legally in Ukraine will probably go bankrupt.» So Chobanyan decided to refocus on the European crypto segment.