Payment card issuer Weld Money is joining other crypto firms quitting business in Ukraine as a result of military restrictions and regulatory uncertainty in the invaded nation.
The Ukrainian fintech urged customers to withdraw all their funds from its platform as it’s preparing to wrap up operations in the coming weeks after alleged disruptions in its services.
Crypto card provider terminates services in Ukraine
Weld Money, a platform that offers payment cards allowing users to spend cryptocurrency, is ceasing activities in Ukraine, following in the footsteps of other crypto companies that have lately given up on working in the country governed by martial law.
On Tuesday, the startup’s team took to social media to announce its decision and explain the main reason behind it, namely, the ongoing military and regulatory restrictions in Ukraine.
In the post, the fintech also advised clients to withdraw all funds from their card accounts and wallets by the end of next month, warning they may lose access after that.
The move comes after customers complained in March about interruptions to Weld Money’s services on its Telegram channel, the Russian-language crypto news outlet Forklog noted in a report.
Founded five years ago, Weld Money was initially specializing in traditional finance, offering users to manage accounts opened with different banks through a single mobile app.
Then, in 2022, the startup joined forces with another Ukrainian fintech, Unex Bank, to launch a payment card linked to crypto wallets on two exchanges, the Ukrainian-rooted WhiteBIT and Huobi, which rebranded to HTX in 2023.
The card facilitated settlements with the stablecoins USDT, USDC, BUSD, and DAI at merchants and stores accepting fiat payments through Mastercard.
Weld Money shares the fate of other Ukrainian startups affected by the war
The government of Ukraine has generally maintained a positive attitude towards crypto assets with a recent report revealing that the authorities in Kyiv have been taking steps to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the Eastern European nation.
However, rising costs and limitations related to the war with Russia as well as delayed regulations , have taken a toll on Ukrainian crypto businesses. Earlier in May, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office was blamed for blocking Ukraine’s long-awaited bill “On Virtual Assets.”
The latter is supposed to update existing rules for the crypto space, including the taxation of profits and the size of a surcharge collected to fund defense efforts. In April, the country’s securities regulator proposed taxing crypto-related income at 18% and raising the military fee from 1.5% to 5%.
Besides Weld Money, at least two other platforms have terminated Ukrainian services since the beginning of this year. In January, the digital asset exchange Kuna announced its intention to end trading activities, which it did in March.
Prior to that, its website had been taken down by the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, Ukraine’s cybersecurity agency, following a court order issued at the request of the country’s Economic Security Bureau.
Kuna founder and crypto entrepreneur Mikhail Chobanyan revealed in a Telegram post, quoted by Forklog that the exchange had been accused of tax evasion. He added his team was trying to clarify the allegations and stated:
“I have decided to stop all commercial activities.”
On May 20, Trustee Plus stopped accepting new registrations from Ukraine, citing the regulatory conditions in the country. The crypto wallet provider said it was postponing a planned expansion in the Ukrainian market and steering its focus toward the European Union. “There are many reasons, but the most significant is the lack of legal certainty,” the company said.
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