During Bloomberg’s interview with KUNA’s Michael Chobanian, we can learn a lot about how people live in the present-day Ukraine. It is the man’s job to use cryptocurrencies to pay for things quickly. And to keep track of all the crypto donations that Ukraine gets from people all over the world, as well. As head of Ukraine’s Blockchain Association and owner of the KUNA exchange, Chobanian was well-known in his home country before the war broke out. It used to be that he used to be in charge of the country’s “virtual government crypto fund.”
There will be a time in the future when crypto is very important. I knew that.” Chobanian told the magazine that he didn’t think he would die because of a war. Before the interview starts, though, the article talks about how important the crypto fund is:
“Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister for digital transformation, said in mid-March that crypto donations had enabled the army to buy 5,500 bulletproof vests, 500 helmets, night-vision goggles, and medicine.”
The CEO of KUNA talked about cryptocurrencies in an interview. What can we learn about them? Many, it turns out.
Ukraine’s Crypto Scene Before The War
In the words of KUNA’s Michael Chobanian, “Ukraine is a big fan of crypto. And now it is even bigger.” Everyone now knows about it. His country was:
- “The No. 1 crypto country in the world”
- “Big companies in the crypto space had offices in Kyiv.”
- “Gatherings of crypto guys” were hosted “on a weekly basis.”
- Before Covid, there were “literally thousands of people at the meetups.”
- The country “had probably a couple of thousand developers.”
What Does KUNA’s Michael Chobanian Do?
Chobanian says that he is “a crypto banker for the government.” He says that his job is to make sure that the government can pay its people as quickly as possible. However, what does he do?
- “Collecting, fundraising, and storing crypto.”
- “Exchanging crypto to crypto and crypto to fiat.”
- “Opening bank accounts for intermediaries or for the government, and then buying whatever is required by the Ministry of Defense.”
- “Find the suppliers who are willing to sell us humanitarian goods, or helmets, or bulletproof vests for crypto.”
Then, the KUNA executive explains crypto’s appeal in a few lines:
“And you can understand that time is money for my country right now. So if we can save a minute, it means that we can save at least someone’s life, so we are trying to speed up the process and crypto is helping us here.”
In Ukraine, cash is garbage and crypto is king
During the war, things have been put into perspective. They now know for sure what we’ve thought for years. It’s said by KUNA’s Michael Chobanian:
“Cash, U.S. dollars, in Ukraine are pretty much useless. No one wants them. Prior to that, dollars were the main payment method for the OTC market. Now considering that you can’t really move cash outside of the country and you cannot store it securely, no one really wants it.”
CEO: Cryptocurrency is now the most valuable form of money in Ukraine. It’s easy to move. It’s not very durable. Especially in wartime, it comes to an end very quickly, which is very important Then, we go back to the language of Chobanian:
“Before the war, there were a lot of skeptics, especially in the government, in the banks, and in the military. Now there is no skepticism because they understand that we save lives every single minute with crypto.”
Recently, it looks like the whole world is a commercial for cryptocurrencies, like a billboard or a TV commercial. It’s a shame that the weather is so bad, but the truth is that it is. It is good for people to use cryptocurrencies because they solve problems and they are here to stay.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
