Ukraine Bitcoin exchange volume spikes 200% as Russia war sparks

Kuna, a long-running native crypto exchange, sees a swift change in client activity amid currency controls and the hryvnia at all-time lows.

As the armed conflict with Russia began, the impact on the fiat currencies of both countries was immediately apparent.

While the Russian ruble suffered noticeably more, the Ukrainian hryvnia also fell, targeting 30 per dollar in what would be a new all-time low.

Ukraine, which just this month finally ratified a law legalizing cryptocurrency after much to-and-fro between lawmakers, unsurprisingly saw interest in alternatives snap higher.

The effect was obvious at seven-year-old Kuna, whose volumes were under $1 million on Feb. 21 but almost $4.1 million three days later.