Ukraine’s main commercial bank has temporarily suspended transfer of national money to digital asset exchanges. The financial firm justified the action by citing constraints imposed by the country’s central bank as a result of the present state of martial law.
Privatbank, Ukraine’s largest bank in terms of assets, has blocked its clients from moving payments in Ukrainian hryvnia, the national fiat currency, to cryptocurrency exchanges. On March 16, a temporary suspension was imposed.
The measure stems from a resolution issued by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on Feb. 24, the day Russia launched its armed invasion of the nation, according to a statement.
Although it does not expressly mention cryptocurrency transactions, the document governs the banking system’s operation under martial law and establishes harsher requirements for bank activities. Cash withdrawals, which was limited to 100,000 hryvnia (about $3,400) every day, and the hryvnia’s exchange rate was fixed.
Banks are not permitted to conduct cross-border money transfers from Ukraine on behalf of their clients, according to Privatbank’s declaration. Transferring funds for use on cryptocurrency exchanges is no exemption, according to the bank.
According to the source, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has confirmed the news of Privatbank’s decision on hryvnia deposits. The business warns consumers that other banks may follow suit and advises them to use peer-to-peer trading.
Ukraine has been collecting cryptocurrency donations to help its defence efforts in the face of advancing Russian soldiers, as well as to address mounting humanitarian needs. The restriction comes despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signing the country’s new “On Virtual Assets” law this week.
