Just-In: Crypto Exchange Scraps Fee Charges For Ukrainian Customers

More goodwill continues to pour in as crypto market participants have expressed support for Ukraine. LocalBitcoins, a leading global peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace, has said that it stands with Ukraine in the trying time the country is going through.

Crypto exchange LocalBitcoins supports Ukraine

To show its support, LocalBitcoins is removing trading fees for Ukrainians using the exchange, including those within and outside the country until further notice. In a press release, LocalBitcoins’ Chief Marketing Officer, Jukka Blomberg said:

“LocalBitcoins’ core value is freedom. We understand that at the moment Ukraine is facing extremely challenging times. For this reason, LocalBitcoins has removed all fees from its Ukrainian users.”

The exchange added via Twitter that the move means that all registered Ukrainians have a free wallet to use to send and receive Bitcoin. Ukraine will also have a viable means to convert donated Bitcoins to their local currency, Hryvnia.

This means:

🔹 A free Bitcoin wallet for all Ukrainians in Ukraine & abroad.

🔹 Receiving Bitcoin in Ukraine from anywhere in the world is extremely fast & with no fees.

🔹 Converting donated Bitcoin to Ukrainian Hryvnia is fast with no fees.

💙💛 #Ukraine #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/DxtIf6vW4x

— LocalBitcoins (@LocalBitcoins) March 1, 2022

Crypto transactions have seen a marked spike in both Ukraine and Russia in the about seven days the conflict has lasted. Per data from Coin Metrics, crypto exchanges operating in Ukraine including Binance, LocalBitcoins, and Kuna have seen significant surges. Hryvnia trading pairs with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and stablecoins like Tether (USDT) have risen to some of their highest levels ever, the report added.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to see massive mobilization of support from the crypto community. Crypto donations to the government of Ukraine, as well as other entities and NGOs supporting the country, have surpassed $50.9 million going by SlowMist’s dashboard monitoring the various crypto wallets.

The government of Ukraine has also been expanding the number of cryptocurrencies it accepts from donors. Having added a Polkadot (DOT) wallet yesterday, it has today added an official Dogecoin (DOGE) wallet. Ukraine has also announced that it will carry out an airdrop for crypto donors.

Bitcoin’s price recovery continues

The price of Bitcoin continued to trend upwards in the last few days, reaching an intraday high of $44,634 today. However, at the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $43,700, down 1.8% in the last 24 hours.

The market has defied fears that sanctions may be placed on crypto as governments try to isolate Russia’s economy. However, analysts have dismissed the fears, saying that crypto, especially Bitcoin being a public ledger, would not prove viable for Russia to use in circumventing sanctions.