The central bank of Ukraine adjusted the fixed exchange rate of the national asset in U.S. dollars and implemented stricter measures on hryvnia transactions for citizens. According to a representative of the local crypto sector, these procedures would turn more Ukrainians into digital assets.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) implemented new policies regarding the dynamic fundamentals of the country’s economy during an ongoing war with Russia. The monetary authority devalued the Ukrainian hryvnia against the solid U.S. dollars by 25% on Thursday and set new lines to limit banking activities with the national fiat.
According to the upgraded regulations for private customers enacted on July 21, financial entities can sell non-cash foreign assets to their customers only if the amounts get housed for at least three months, without an alternative to put the contract to an end.
The 50,000-hryvnia ceiling for withdrawals from payment cards got replaced by a weekly limit of 12,500 ($340). Peer-to-peer transfers from cards handled by Ukrainian banks got cut from 100,000 hryvnias (approx. $2,700) to 30,000 hryvnias ($800). And the limit for cross-border settlements with hryvnia cards got set at 100,000 per month.
According to NBU Governor Kirill Shevchenko, all the procedures implemented since the war appeared on the European map are temporary and allow the economy to take a breath amid this conflict. However, these measures currently impact Ukrainians, especially those millions of citizens who got obliged to abandon the nation and are still unable to return.
The latest NBU restrictions may lead to a rise in Ukrainians’ interest in digital assets. This information is what the founder of the Ukrainian crypto exchange Kuna, Mikhail Chobanyan, commented to the crypto news outlet Forklog about the situation. He said they expect an increase in the movement and use of digital assets. The entrepreneur also expressed that, in Europe, 100,000 hryvnias is nothing.
Chobanyan also observed that the new limits would obstruct the work of volunteers since most of the humanitarian assistance gets acquired with cards managed by Ukrainian banks.
Chobanyan added that they would completely switch these flows to crypto and described the central bank’s policy as aggressive. It also warned that Ukrainian banks and the state budget would be the losers when the war meets an end.
Finland Sells Bitcoin Seized from Narcotic Crimes
Finnish Customs, the Finnish government’s customs service, revealed that it got rid of legally seized bitcoins. The operation happened this summer and the announcement details that at least 1,889.1 bitcoins got sold. The total proceeds from this sale to the state brought a benefit of about 46.5 million euros.
The Customs Service explained that the bitcoins got seized due to an investigation of crimes linked to narcotics and doping substances.
The announcement added that the coins got sold in late spring by two digital assets brokers through a competitive negotiation process chosen by Customs. Finnish Customs further unveiled that at least 90 bitcoins are waiting for a proper decision to pay the sanction.
Tully expressed he also seized other digital assets. However, as these cases are under investigation, the digital assets or their quantity cannot get described in detail.
By: Jenson Nuñez
