The latest market analysis confirmed that the price of Tether stablecoin (USDT) soared to as high as 36.97 Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH) ($1.23) on Ukrainian crypto exchange Kuna on February 24. The USDT premium’s spike appeared a few hours after Russia launched invasions in Ukraine, with the daily trading volume of general crypto on the exchange hitting a record high of $4.4 million in those 24 hours.
According to XE, a foreign exchange data provider, the UAH currency mid-market rates also surged to a maximum of 29.89 per U.S. dollar over the same period. Indeed, the conversion rate for USDT was much higher than typical UAH/U.S dollar transactions.
At the time of writing, the UAH/USDT trading pair was oscillating around 31.89 on Kuna, compared to the UAH/USD exchange rate of 29.80. USDT has attracted a premium interest of 6.55% in the last 24 hours.
Data acquired from Binance suggests that USDT listing is currently selling at a premium of more than 7% against Ukrainian hryvnia. Notably, the time USDT suddenly spiked on Kuna was during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
On February 24, while safeguarding the country’s economy over Russia’s invasion, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) announced that it had fixed the foreign exchange currency rate, adjusted the withdrawal limit, and suspended the issuance of electronic money (fiat in digital form).
Buy Bitcoin NowNaturally, when the government sets the exchange rate of its currency, a black market quickly develops as consumers transact foreign currencies based on rates that reflect actual economic conditions.
While commenting about the government’s action to cushion the economy, in a short video, Michael Chobanian, founder of Kuna crypto exchange and the president of the Blockchain Association of Ukraine, said that his crypto exchange and banks are operating smoothly despite interruptions.
Before summarizing, Chobanian described his country as a state of “full-time war,” launching a cryptocurrency fund to support Ukrainian Armed Forces and government in their resistance against Russian invasion:
“Let’s hope for peace, but if you want peace, you have to prepare for the war.”
