National Bank of Ukraine Temporarily Bans Cross-Border Crypto Purchases With Hryvnia – Regulation Bitcoin News

Additional restrictions have been placed by the central bank of Ukraine on international transactions. This will prohibit Ukrainians from purchasing crypto assets overseas using their national fiat. These measures were taken to curb capital outflow in the midst of ongoing conflict with Russia.

Ukraine citizens are not allowed to buy crypto abroad from local currency accounts

A notice was issued by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), detailing restrictions that can be placed on trans-border transactions private citizens may make. The move aims to curb the “unproductive outflow of capital from the country under martial law,” the regulator stated.

Ukrainian citizens will have the right to purchase assets which can be converted directly to cash or quasi-cash transactions using their own currency, up to 100,000 hryvnia (about $3,400 per month). Cross-border peer to peer (P2P), transfers are also subject to the same limit. Non-cash transfer can also be made with foreign currency cards.

The quasi cash transactions include a range of operations like replenishment of electronic wallets or forex accounts, payment of traveler’s checks, and purchase of virtual assets, the monetary authority elaborated. After Privatbank, Ukraine’s largest commercial bank, stopped hryvnia payments to crypto exchanges in March, these new rules were implemented.

To facilitate the financial aid for Ukrainian refugees in other countries, the NBU allows Hryvnia account holder to perform cross-border transfers of P2P funds within the limit of 100,000 Hryvnia per month. However, quasi cash transactions using these accounts are currently prohibited by the central bank.

The National Bank of Ukraine insists that these rules will help to improve the country’s foreign exchange market, which it considers a precondition for easing restrictions in the future. The regulator is also convinced that the measures will reduce the pressure on Ukraine’s foreign currency reserves.

For settlements with foreign payment systems, the Ukrainian foreign market processed large volumes of foreign currencies purchases by banks in Ukraine. These transfers reached $1.7 million in March. This is due to the increasing use of Ukrainian banks’ cards in order to purchase goods and services from abroad.

Quasi cash transactions can also be made with bank cards, which the NBU claims are carried out primarily to avoid its restrictions. Particularly for investment abroad that is banned under the martial law. However, these restrictions do not apply for cards that are used to pay for goods or services both within and outside Ukraine.

Let us know your thoughts about the National Bank of Ukraine’s new restrictions regarding crypto-purchases. Comment below to share your opinions.

Lubomir Tatsev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.