Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, and Kuna, a top Ukrainian exchange have announced temporary suspensions in operations for bank cards in Ukrainian Hryvnia. Both platforms confirmed the issues with these transactions.

Representatives of Binance explained to Forklog that the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has placed restrictions on the processing of withdrawals and deposits in the national currency. The exchange advised traders to use its peer–to-peer marketplace.

“Currently, fiat channels (namely input and withdrawal via a bank card or other payment services) are temporarily suspended among cryptocurrency Exchanges throughout Ukraine,” the trading platform stated in Telegram on Thursday. Bits.media also quoted it.

“Regarding the Hryvnia Card and the input/output to exchange. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t work.

Chobanian suggested Friday that problems with non-cash transactions in hryvnia could be related to Ukrainian authorities’ efforts against money laundering and tax evasion via online gambling sites.

This was in reference to a statement made by a Ukrainian lawmaker, who stated that such a turnover is 54 billion hryvnia ($almost $1.5 million) annually. Oleksiy Zimerenetsky, the deputy, confirmed that he sees a connection between them.

Hryvnia Exchange Restrictions Likely to Impact Crypto Donations For War-Torn Ukraine

Chobanian said that the problems with withdrawing and depositing hryvnia from crypto exchanges began in September last year. However, the central bank restrictions have become more severe since December. He added:

P2P and A2C transactions were banned by the NBU for financial companies. All crypto exchanges operate through them so everything is now gone.

Chobanian believes the restrictions will cause reputational damage to Ukraine as a leader in crypto adoption throughout the region and abroad. He believes that the situation will also impact the activities of small- and medium-sized companies, as well as cryptocurrency donations.

Recent reports from blockchain intelligence companies Elliptic and Chainalysis have revealed that Ukraine has raised more than $212 million in cryptocurrency for its defense and humanitarian efforts since February 2022. $70 million of this amount has been received at government-provided addresses.

The National Bank of Ukraine placed a monthly cap on the number of transactions per person for the purchase of cryptocurrency. This was approximately $3,400 at the time and $2,700 today. The consequences of these restrictions on the country’s crypto-market are yet to be commented by the monetary authority.