Crypto payment card ‘top priority’ for Binance Ukraine in 2022
Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues pushing operations in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) by preparing a new crypto payment card in Ukraine.
Binance is looking to reach a dominant position in the crypto market of Ukraine by offering a wide range of local crypto services, Binance Ukraine’s new general manager Kirill Khomyakov said in a Monday interview with Forbes Ukraine.
"Binance card is not yet available for Ukrainian users, but we are actively working on its launch. This is one of our top priorities for 2022," Khomyakov told Cointelegraph.
Apart from launching a crypto payment card, Binance Ukraine is also pursuing active development of local services related to nonfungible tokens (NFT) and fan tokens. The firm is planning to soon launch a fan token for a major sports team in Ukraine to enable new fan interactions, Khomyakov said.
While Ukraine's crypto legislation doesn’t straightforwardly allow payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as these assets are not recognized as legal tender, there is apparently still no ban on crypto-derived transactions.
"Binance card has a balance in cryptocurrencies with no fiat balance required. At the moment of the transaction the amount of the transaction is automatically converted from crypto to fiat," Khomyakov said. "Our local partners ensure that any co-branded products with Binance are provided in 100% compliance with all regulatory rules and requirements," he added
Some Ukrainian government officials like Digital Transformation deputy minister Oleksandr Bornyakov also previously pointed out that local laws do not prohibit payments derived from crypto if crypto payment assets are converted into fiat.
Related: Reuters: Binance was withholding information from regulators, repeatedly shunned own compliance department
Some countries like Russia even banned crypto payments, but this didn’t prevent state-backed institutions like the State Hermitage Museum from accepting crypto-derived payments during an online NFT auction supported by Binance.
Binance also previously planned to launch its crypto payment card in Russia despite the local crypto payment ban. After announcing the plan in 2020, Binance has not yet rolled out the product so far.
"At the moment, the launch of the card in Russia is not a priority," Binance Eastern European Director Gleb Kostarev told Cointelegraph, adding that the firm is now focused on developing a "regulatory field around cryptocurrencies."