Primary shock and first actions

As workers, we were not ready for the beginning of the war, but this did not surprise the company. Sometime before February 24, Binance launched a relocation program, and anyone who wanted to leave Ukraine could do so at the company's expense. But few took advantage of this opportunity: we still believed it would pass.

When the war started, the company worked perfectly. She covered all the costs of internally displaced workers and provided psychological support. The functional activity of the business was saved by almost 100%. All our employees stayed with us.

In the early days, there was a lot of work to ensure the safety of people who remained in Ukraine and to support those who left. And, of course, a lot of time was spent on charity projects, which we immediately began to launch. Binance provided the most support to Ukraine — $ 10 million. Our colleagues from the Binance Charity Foundation were looking for recipients to get help (and at first, it wasn't easy to find them), and we tried to do everything to make the money work as soon as possible.

Ukraine has also traditionally belonged to the CIS region in the corporate classification. Since the beginning of the war, we have initiated change, and now our country is part of the CEE region (Central and Eastern Europe). So, Ukraine is already in the EU in terms of our company.

Changes in the company and the market

With the start of the war, we had to reconsider our plans until then. For example, we have entirely suspended almost all marketing activities. Previously, we planned large-scale partnerships with major retail players in telecoms, sports, and more. So far, all this is not on time. Now our marketing is refocused on supporting users and people who need help.

The war came as a shock for the cryptocurrency market, which was transformed into a significant increase in the number of customers and transactions. In times of turmoil, people traditionally choose a protective asset for themselves. In Ukraine, it became a cryptocurrency.

What is happening in the global cryptocurrency market is not related to the war but the increase in the discount rate of the US Federal Reserve. And with the suspension of the Terra blockchain and the collapse of the price of LUNA. As a result, a liquidity crisis began in other cryptocurrencies.

However, the cryptocurrency market is cyclical. It can fall and rise, which is normal. Over the past year, the total capitalization of cryptocurrencies has quadrupled: from $ 750 billion to $ 3 trillion. It is such a convenient financial instrument that it has only one way.

Refugee card

According to official data, more than 5 million people left Ukraine. We wanted to support them and thought about how to do it. We could not launch the Binance Card in Ukraine without a whole legal framework, but together with our partners, we took a slightly risky step and did it in Europe. Even without official resident status and permanent housing, Ukrainian refugees can obtain such a card. And, accordingly, to receive transfers without commission and pay for them without conversion from cryptocurrency to fiat (traditional) currency.

And those who are in difficulty can register and receive financial assistance from Binance and other organizations. The three-month 75D BUSD is only available to refugees who have left Ukraine since the start of the war with Russia and have been screened by nonprofits. You can contact us at [email protected].

Other people can use cryptocurrency cards without restrictions. Ukrainians have never had such an opportunity before.

The demand for cards is growing every day. On average — 1500 cards a day. All you have to do to register is have a Binance account and enter your temporary European phone. The virtual card starts working immediately, and the physical one can be ordered and received within a few days.

Currently, the cards are valid only within the EU, but we are also actively working on issuing Binance Card in Ukraine.

Learning for the future

A project on the retraining of internally displaced people has now been agreed upon with the Ministry of Digital Transformation. We will sponsor the acquisition of technical professions by cryptocurrency. Ukrainian IT companies will become partners: they will train these people and provide them with certificates. The ministry and I will also help them get a job.

We plan that such training will last six months. It will be very intense and involve at least a thousand people (at least in the first stage). The cost we will cover will be $ 1,000 per person. There are already more than 3,000 people willing to do so. If there are more of them, we will continue the project.

We are also currently working with Ukrainian foundations that we have already funded to support people who have remained in Ukraine. After all, it is even more challenging for those who did not go. We do not have our network to provide funds to these people, so that we will do so through partner charitable foundations.

And, of course, it is essential to start the economy. That is why we actively cooperate with ministries and regulators to bring new legislation into force. Also, it is preparing to announce several affiliate programs under which people will be able to pay for goods with cryptocurrency. The goal is to return as much money as possible to Ukraine.

Ukraine is a significant market for Binance. We expect that as soon as the war is over, we will actively expand our presence on the Ukrainian market and make efforts to make the country our largest Eastern European cryptocurrency hub. Ukraine has everything you need for this.

After the victory — which I have no doubt — will be the economic part of the reconstruction. Investments worldwide, a new security architecture — this is what awaits us. And I believe that the digital economy will be an essential part of our future.