Ukraine’s Crypto Banker Describes How War Is Changing His Life
Michael Chobanian founded an exchange for digital currencies in Kyiv. Now he’s helping the government use Bitcoin to buy bulletproof vests.
Like most Ukrainians, Michael Chobanian is reaching for weapons to defend his country from the Russian invasion. Instead of rifles, he’s taken up something much more modern: crypto. Chobanian, 38, oversees the country’s growing digital currency war chest, which exceeded $60 million in late March, the result of an international outpouring of support.
For the past six years Chobanian led Ukraine’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, KUNA, and became known as the father of his country’s crypto scene. Now he’s tasked with converting and spending those tokens to help equip Ukrainian forces. Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister for digital transformation, said in mid-March that crypto donations had enabled the army to buy 5,500 bulletproof vests, 500 helmets, night-vision goggles, and medicine.