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Crypto Exchange Kraken Pledges Over $10 Million to Support Ukrainian Users

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Crypto Exchange Kraken Pledges Over $10 Million to Support Ukrainian Users

Kraken is planning to hand out more than $10 million in aid for clients affected by the military conflict in Ukraine. The amount covers the fees paid by Ukrainian residents in almost a decade and will also include those withheld from Russian traders in the first half of 2022.

Kraken Exchange to Give $1,000 in Bitcoin to Each Eligible Ukrainian Customer

U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken is preparing to distribute $10 million to Ukrainian customers suffering from the Russian invasion. Between March 10 and July 1, clients who created an account from Ukraine prior to March 9, 2022, at “Intermediate” or “Pro” level verification, will be eligible to receive $1,000 in bitcoin (BTC), the platform announced in a blog post and on social media.

Ukrainian users will be able to immediately withdraw the funds from the exchange while currency conversion fees for amounts of up to $1,000 will be waived. The first of three planned tranches will be approximately equivalent to the total of the fees paid by residents of Ukraine since 2013.

An amount equivalent to the fees paid by Kraken users based in the Russian Federation in the first half of this year will also be donated. The exchange said it may grant additional aid in the future. Commenting on the deepening crisis in Ukraine, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell stated:

We hope to continue being able to provide critical financial services in a time of need to both our clients in Ukraine and in Russia. Cryptocurrency remains an important humanitarian tool, especially at a time when many around the world can no longer rely on traditional banks and custodians.

After Moscow launched its offensive in late February, the government in Kyiv urged crypto exchanges to freeze the accounts of Russian users. However, major global platforms, including Kraken and Binance, denied the request to unilaterally impose such restrictions on all traders from Russia. At the time, Powell noted that’s not a viable business option for his company.

The aid distribution is Kraken’s first such international initiative and represents efforts to align its business with the values of the crypto community, like the belief that all global citizens should have access to financial services. “This includes our clients in Russia, who may be actively trying to protest the ongoing conflict,” the exchange remarked, elaborating:

We believe this aid program benefits both our company and our clients, ensuring none are disenfranchised by the actions of their representatives and leaders.

Kraken further emphasized it’s ready to respond to requests from authorities in affected regions and is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine to ensure it’s abiding by relevant sanctions. The announcement also provides detailed information on how the crypto aid will be distributed and the applicable eligibility requirements.

Ukrainian officials and volunteer groups have actively sought to acquire funding through crypto donations. The digital money raised since the beginning of the conflict have been used to finance both defense efforts and solve humanitarian problems.

The world’s leading crypto exchange by trading volume, Binance, is supporting humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, too. The platform announced the donation of $10 million for the Ukrainian people and the Binance Charity Foundation gave Unicef $2.5 million worth of cryptocurrency to address the needs of children and their families.

You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund.

Do you expect other major crypto exchanges to support Ukrainian users suffering from the ongoing military conflict? Tell us in the comments section below.

Thailand Seeks to Offer Russian Tourists Crypto Payment Option Amid Fiat Sanctions

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Thailand Seeks to Offer Russian Tourists Crypto Payment Option Amid Fiat Sanctions

A popular destination for many Russians, Thailand is now looking for ways to facilitate their payments amid widening western sanctions over Moscow’s military invasion of Ukraine. Cryptocurrency is one of the options being explored by the tourism industry as Russian citizens now face financial restrictions.

Authorities in Thailand Consider Accepting Cryptocurrency From Russian Visitors


Talks are underway between the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to find alternative payment methods, including cryptocurrency, for Russian tourists visiting the country. The effort comes after Visa and Mastercard suspended support for Russian-issued cards outside the country, adding to the pressure on Moscow to end its military assault on Ukraine.

Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, the Phuket Tourist Association’s president, has recently discussed the possibility of allowing Russian tourists to use cryptocurrencies as an emergency measure, a backup option, if fiat transactions cannot be processed, the Nation Thailand daily reported.

The PTA official has also suggested that Thai businesses integrate the Russian card payment system Mir, which was developed after some Russian banks were denied services by Visa and Mastercard following the annexation of Crimea back in 2014.

Other media reports have revealed that companies from the tourism sector have been employing the Chinese payment platform Unionpay, also a provider of bank card services, to offer Russians in the country another payment method to cover their bills.

Thousands of Russian and Ukrainian Tourists Stranded in Thai Resorts


Up to 4,000 tourists from the Russian Federation are currently in Phuket, a province of over 30 islands off Thailand’s southern coast. The largest of them, Phuket, is a popular tourist destination on the Russian market. Between 300 and 400 Ukrainian visitors are also there now, Bhummikitti said.

Another 3,000 tourists from both countries are on vacation in Koh Samui, Krabi and Pattaya, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). They have been stranded by the ongoing war in Ukraine or unable to return home due to canceled flights.

Russia’s Aeroflot and S7 Airlines are not flying to Phuket after a number of nations closed their airspace to Russian planes. The government in Bangkok has waived a $60 visa extension fee for Russians and Ukrainians while TAT and tour operators are mulling over other measures to help the tourists.

Hostilities in Ukraine started when Russian forces crossed the border on Feb. 24. According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, UNHCR, over a million Ukrainians sought shelter in neighboring countries in the first week of the conflict. Authorities in Kyiv and NGOs have turned to crypto donations to fund defense efforts and solve humanitarian problems.

You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund.

Do you think cryptocurrency may serve as a viable payment option for Russian tourists as sanctions mount on Russia? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Russians Own $215 Billion in Crypto Suggests Estimate Attributed to Government

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Russians Own $215 Billion of Crypto, Suggests Estimate Attributed to Government

Russians may own more cryptocurrency than previously thought, a new estimate reportedly used by the government has indicated. The quoted figure amounts to over a tenth of the global holdings and may serve as an impetus for the government to regulate Russia’s crypto market rather than outlaw it.

Estimated 12% of Crypto Allegedly Held by Russians


Russian citizens own cryptocurrencies worth over 16.5 trillion rubles (around $215 billion), according to an estimate referred to by authorities in Moscow, Bloomberg reported. The figure has surfaced as government institutions are trying to adopt a comprehensive policy to determine the future of the decentralized digital assets in Russia.

Regulators have scrambled to put the country’s growing crypto space in order following a call by President Vladimir Putin for a consensus on the matter. It was issued after Bank of Russia proposed a blanket ban on crypto-related activities, an idea which has been rejected by a number of officials as counterproductive.

Russian media recently revealed that the government has drafted a roadmap to regulate, not prohibit crypto transactions. People working with the proposals told Bloomberg that the latest estimate was produced last month through analysis of the IP addresses of crypto exchange users and other information. The two sources chose to remain anonymous as the policies are yet to be finalized.

The cryptocurrency owned by Russians, the report notes, amounts to around 12% of the value of global crypto holdings, as per Coinmarketcap’s data, and is equal to a third of the market capitalization of their country’s benchmark stock index. This may be among the key reasons why the Russian government is more inclined to regulate the industry instead of imposing a wide-ranging ban.

The $215-billion figure exceeds previously announced estimates. In December, the head of the parliamentary Financial Market Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, said that Russian citizens had invested 5 trillion rubles in crypto ($67 billion at the time). Bank of Russia’s numbers suggest that the annual volume of crypto transactions made by Russians reaches $5 billion.

According to the Russian Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (Racib) and the Singapore-based Triple A payment gateway, more than 17 million Russians own cryptocurrency, which is over a tenth of the country’s population. A representative of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who signed the regulatory roadmap, indicated the government refers to that figure as well but declined to value the total crypto holdings of Russian residents.

Do you think the volume of Russian crypto holdings will influence regulators in their final decision on the future of cryptocurrencies in Russia? Let us know in the comments section below.

Russians Aware of Bitcoin Divided on Proposed Crypto Ban, Poll Finds

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Russians Aware of Bitcoin Divided on Proposed Crypto Ban, Poll Finds

A new survey has indicated that Russians who have heard about cryptocurrency are deeply divided in their opinions on the recently suggested ban on operations with digital assets. A third of the respondents support the central bank’s proposal while an equal number of participants in the survey oppose it.

Bank of Russia’s Call to Prohibit Cryptocurrencies Backed by 32% of Russians Who Know Bitcoin

Amid ongoing discussions on the future of digital currencies, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (Vtsiom) has published a new study measuring the attitudes of Russian citizens towards crypto assets and operations with them. It comes as officials are trying to put the country’s crypto space in order, not without disagreements between regulators.

According to the poll, the majority of Russians (64%) have heard about bitcoin and 17% have good knowledge of the cryptocurrency, an increase of four percentage points in comparison with the data from a 2017 survey. The share of those who are totally unaware of its existence has shrunk by 11 points to just 19%.

According to the Russian Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (Racib), over 17 million Russians have cryptocurrency wallets. Russian citizens have invested 5 trillion rubles in crypto (over $67 billion), the head of the State Duma Financial Market Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, announced in December.

The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies has forced Moscow to take steps to regulate the market. Citing threats to the nation’s financial stability and risks for its citizens, Bank of Russia proposed a blanket ban on a range of crypto activities including the issuing, using, trading, and mining of coins like bitcoin. The prohibition has been opposed by other institutions and the government has reportedly prepared a roadmap to regulate, not ban crypto operations.

Equal numbers of crypto-aware Russians now support and reject the central bank’s idea (32% each), the survey conducted by Vtsiom has shown. A similarly sized group of people, 33%, remain indifferent towards the regulator’s attempt to ban crypto-related transactions. A majority of the young, 54% of those aged 18 – 24 and half of the 25 to 34-year-olds, disagree with the monetary authority. On the other end of the spectrum are those aged 60 and over, among whom only 15% are against the ban.

Despite the annual volume of crypto transactions made by Russians reaching $5 billion, according to Bank of Russia’s own estimates, 81% of the respondents do not wish to acquire cryptocurrency against 16% who said they wanted to buy. Over half of the participants in the study (56%) still think bitcoin is a bad investment while one in five questioned (22%) view it as a good option.

The majority of Russians familiar with bitcoin admitted that neither they nor those they are close to had ever bought cryptocurrency (74%). A fifth of the polled revealed their relatives or friends had bought bitcoin (21%) and 4% purchased cryptos themselves. At the same time, more Russians (38%) believe a crypto stash is harder to steal, while those who feel fiat holdings are safer came out to 27%.

What do you think about the findings in the survey and the proposals to regulate the Russian crypto sector? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Russians to Pay Fees on Digital Ruble Transactions, Central Bank Says

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Russians to Pay Fees on Digital Ruble Transactions, Central Bank Says

Users of Russia’s central bank digital currency are going to pay a fee for each transaction, a high-ranking representative of Bank of Russia has recently announced. The digital ruble charge, however, is not going to exceed those currently applied to fast payments in the country.

Bank of Russia to Charge for Digital Ruble Transfers


The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is planning to impose fees on transactions with the digital ruble, revealed Kirill Pronin, director of the regulator’s Financial Technologies Department. The official emphasized that these commissions will be lower than current charges for transfers in the banking sector.

Speaking at a forum under the banner “Banking System of Russia: Ensuring Availability of Services and Resources in the Face of Increasing Risks,” Pronin further noted that the fees will certainly not exceed the costs of transfers with Russia’s Faster Payments System (FPS). Quoted by the business news agency Prime, he stated:

We assume fees on transactions with the digital ruble will be lower than existing fees on wire transfers for market participants and definitely not higher than commissions within the FPS framework.


Russia launched its Faster Payment System in January 2019. It allows Russian residents to send money using only a phone number and pay for goods and services with a QR code. Transfers of up to 100,000 rubles per month (approx. $1,350) are free of charge. A fee of 0.5%, but not more than 1,500 rubles (around $20), is applied to transfers exceeding this amount.

The Russian Federation’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) is still under development with experts working on its precise format. The digital ruble is expected to be implemented as a unique code, stored in a special electronic wallet, and become a full-fledged payment instrument alongside the regular ruble in its other two incarnations – cash and bank money.

Bank of Russia started contemplating a digital ruble back in 2018 and decided to explore the possibility of issuing the CBDC last year. A consultation paper was published in October 2020 to gather feedback from financial sector players and other stakeholders. In April 2021, the authority released a digital ruble concept outlining its principle architecture.

In June, the monetary authority formed a pilot group joined by over a dozen banks. CBR plans to complete the platform’s prototype in December 2021 and commence trials in January 2022. Elvira Nabiullina, the bank’s chair, recently stated that the digital ruble will provide Russian citizens with an alternative to cryptocurrencies and fiat-backed stablecoins while enabling cheap and reliable payments.

Do you think Russians will prefer to use the digital ruble platform over existing methods of money transfer? Tell us in the comments section below.