The oldest Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange has suffered a disastrous fate after the news of sudden blocking of operations by order of the State Special Communications Service. After 11 years of operation, Kuna is forced to close. About reportedits founder Mykhailo Chobanyan on his Telegram channel.
«My reputation is my main asset, and most of Kuna’s clients have come to us because they trust my personality and my team. I thank every client for this trust! For almost 11 years, we have come a very long way with you — from the creation of the crypto industry as such to the world’s first charitable crypto fund to help the country in war», — Chobanyan said.
The entrepreneur explained that he would now focus on the global changes in the world that became apparent after the last economic forum in Davos. In this regard, he has decided to stop all business activities, so Kuna is shutting down, but not being sold.
«We will discuss this future, which will soon become the present, in Lugano in May at our annual conference. In the meantime, we are closing everything in the past and making room for something interesting and new — Symbiocracy»,” added Chobanyan.
The entrepreneur noted that the claim from the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES), which led to the blocking of the service, was based on the underpayment of certain taxes. But he still does not know what exactly it is.
Chobanyan also reminded clients of the importance of storing cryptocurrencies in cold (hardware) multi-signature wallets, rather than on centralized services such as Kuna. He asked users to withdraw their funds within the next two months to be able to completely close the project and focus on new initiatives, including the concept of symbiosis. This is a symbiosis of intelligent humans, artificial intelligence, and nature (the noosphere).
According to Chobanian, he is completely abandoning commercial activities and will focus on the future of humanity, GovTech, artificial intelligence, and public activities.
On January 27, it became known that the Kuna crypto exchange was officially blocked in Ukraine according to an order of the State Special Communications Service. Providers started blocking the website, and users received notifications.
The document on the blocking was published on January 22 by the National Center for Operational and Technical Management of Telecommunications Networks (NCU). The ruling states that this decision was made by the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv at the request of the BES. Since 2023, the BES has been conducting pre-trial investigations into cryptocurrency exchanges whose beneficiaries are residents of Ukraine, said Andriy Pashchuk, the head of the department. According to the BES, as of August 2023, Ukraine’s budget did not receive at least UAH 3 billion (about $81 million at the time) in taxes from the activities of local crypto exchanges.
Kuna’s infrastructure is hosted on European cloud servers, so the site remains accessible outside of Ukraine.
Kuna.io is a cryptocurrency exchange service founded by entrepreneur and public figure Mikhail Chobanian in 2015. The platform is registered and operates under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
In 2017, in cooperation with Kuna, the first cryptomats, or terminals for purchasing cryptocurrency for hryvnia, were installed in Ukraine. In December 2018, the service was rebranded and a mobile application was released. As of January 2021, Kuna’s daily turnover exceeded $4 million. The exchange of the Russian ruble was stopped in February 2022.
Kuna has served more than 500 thousand customers.