After Ukraine’s central bank imposed a limit on cash withdrawals, Kuna, a cryptocurrency exchange that provides trades in ruble and hryvnia saw a notable surge in volume. Kuna’s crypto-assets, such as bitcoin and tether are still trading at a substantial premium.
Crypto in Ukraine Sees Premiums
After Russian troops invading the territory, the conflict is still ongoing in Ukraine. According to UN estimates, around 100,000 Ukrainian citizens fled Ukraine in 24 hours.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), two days after Russian invasion, implemented a daily cash withdrawal limit of 100,000 hryvnias ($3,350) After Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, declared martial law on February 24, NBU invoked this mandate.
Immediately following the NBU’s limit mandate on cash withdrawals, the cryptocurrency exchange Kuna saw trade volume surge by $3.5 million on Thursday. Kuna’s trade volume jumped by $1.4 million to $4.8million, most trading pairs using hryvnia.
Volume remains higher on Kuna as volume on the crypto exchange was $780 million six days ago, but today, Kuna’s exchange volume is $1.4 million. The exchange allows traders to trade in UAH (hryvnia) and also permits them to swap currencies in ruble (RUB).
There’s also a premium on bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and tether (USDT) on the Kuna exchange as tether is swapping for $1.08 per token at the time of writing. Tether (USDT), which is also exchanging hands outside Ukraine at the moment, costs $0.99 per coin.
Kuna is leveraged the hryvnia(UAH) pair. A single ethereum trades in the Ukraine for $2,982.83 while an ETH swap trades elsewhere for $2,000.
Bitcoin (BTC) is exchanging hands for $42,106 when swapped with the hryvnia (UAH) pair, as the premium is $3,124 more expensive than the crypto asset outside Kuna’s platform.
Prices for bitcoin (BTC), as well as localbitcoins.com, are rising as sellers sell at prices up to 1,296,879.12 UAH/BTC. This is $43,480 per coin. But, the localbitcoins.com metrics this week indicate that there is less trade volume in Ukraine at present.
Localbitcoins.com also hasn’t seen significant rises in BTC exchange volume in Russia. Kuna has a RUB/BTC premium because BTC can be swapped for either $40,705 (or 3,414,848 RUB). Kuna also has an ETH/RUB premium, but it is not as large as that for UAH (ether swaps).
How do you feel about premiums for bitcoin, tether and ethereum? Please comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.
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