LocalBitcoins reduces fees for Ukrainian users

Peer-to-peer trading platform LocalBitcoins has eliminated all fees for Ukrainian users in a show of solidarity. Citizens of the country can now receive bitcoin and convert it into local currency without incurring any fees.

Peer-to-peer exchange LocalBitcoin has eliminated all fees for Ukrainian users, in part to help the country and its citizens besieged by Russia. Communication announced move on Twitter on March 1, saying that Ukrainians in the country and abroad will receive a free bitcoin wallet.

In a message to the people of Ukraine, LocalBitcoins said that “its core value is freedom”. Therefore, the removal of fees will include receiving bitcoins to a Ukrainian wallet and converting bitcoins to Ukrainian Hryvnia.

Cryptocurrency donations to Ukraine have surpassed 20 million dollars. The country has officially published a bitcoin and ethereum wallet to which donors can send donations. Ukrainian NFTs have also grown in popularity over the past few days, with 43.2 million or so minted per Ukrainian citizen.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine has asked crypto platforms to block Russian addresses after the sanctions. Some agreed, though others said the matter was not so simple.

Crypto World contributes to Ukraine

LocalBitcoins is the latest platform to support Ukraine, which has received a lot of support from crypto entities. However, the cryptocurrency sector is not universally aligned with Western governments and their decisions. There has been massive criticism against many crypto platforms for not shutting down their operations in Russia.

Governments are worried that Russia and sanctioned individuals could use cryptocurrencies to avoid the effects of sanctions. Many crypto platforms and their executives, like Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, say it would not be right to discontinue service for all Russian users. Powell said there should be a legal requirement to do so.

Some platforms prefer to take an average ground. Binance, one of the world’s largest exchanges, said that it will freeze the accounts of those on the sanctions list, but not all Russian users.

Disclaimer

All information contained on our website is published in good faith and is for general information purposes only. Any action a reader takes with respect to information found on our website is entirely at their own risk.