There has been talk that Ukraine wants to develop its cryptocurrency industry and take advantage of the economic benefits it will definitely provide over time. To help it reach its goals, Ukraine officials were reportedly in talks with the Binance crypto exchange to help build the framework and, once that announcement was made, other exchanges reportedly stepped up and offered to lend a hand. Among these, according to Ukraine Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alexander Bornyakov, were Bittrex and Coinbase, but there seems to be some disagreement over exactly what has been discussed. Bittrex denies ever having reached out to the country.
Bornyakov participated in an interview a week ago to discuss Ukraine’s crypto and blockchain direction. He acknowledged that there had been talk with Binance and added, “After we announced it, we began receiving requests from Bittrex, from Coinbase.” The thought of two U.S.-based exchanges working with Ukrainian government officials was surprising to many.
After the interview made its way to local news channels, Bittrex went on the defensive and released a statement about the minister’s comments. A spokesperson for the company states, “We would like to confirm that no one from Bittrex Global has been in contact with an official of the Ukrainian government.” Another added, “Bittrex is committed to helping foster innovation of blockchain technology around the world. However, Bittrex has not reached out to Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation to partner with them.”
Bittrex needs to settle some of its own problems before it looks to expand. It recently announced that it would shut down operations in 21 countries over regulatory concerns and is having to respond to a lawsuit in a SIM-swapping case. Solidifying its existing operations would, hopefully, take precedence over working with a foreign government.
Coinbase hasn’t offered any input on the subject or stated whether or not the rumors are true. It’s not surprising to see any crypto company considering a connection to the Ukraine government, though, as more governments around the world are beginning to take more seriously the Bitcoin ecosystem. They are more willing to introduce regulators for the space and help foster a better global environment, determined to help crypto flourish as it continues to become a greater part of everyday life.
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