WhiteBIT rejects claims from Russia's Attorney General that the exchange facilitated illegal money transactions out of Russia to finance Ukraine's armed forces.

The Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange claims that it has ceased operations in Russia since the war broke out between the countries.

WhiteBIT rejects Russia's claims

In an official statement, WhiteBIT rejected Russia's ban and stated that the company completely withdrew from the Russian market shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

“After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, WhiteBIT took a principled stand: they blocked all users from Russia and Belarus, and removed trading with the Russian ruble,” it states.

The centralized exchange also pointed out that this decision cost the company about 30% of its customer base at that time.

These clarifications come just days after Russia's attorney general announced a ban on WhiteBIT and labeled the company as an “undesirable organization”.

The ban came after Russia's claims that the exchange facilitated illegal money transactions out of the country and helped finance Ukraine's armed forces.

Alleged transfers referred to as donations

Russian authorities accused WhiteBIT management of transferring about $ 11 million to Ukraine since 2022. To this, WhiteBIT clarified that the funds did not come from Russia.

“Over the four years of full-scale war, WhiteBIT has donated around $ 11 million of its own funds in support of Ukraine's defense forces and humanitarian efforts for civilians,” it states.

Among other allegations, Russian authorities claimed that WhiteBIT provided technical support to UNITED24, Ukraine's state-supported platform for crypto donations.

WhiteBIT confirmed that they have collaborated with United24 by enabling Whitepay, a crypto processing service used to facilitate crypto donations to the platform and other humanitarian foundations in Ukraine.

“In total, WhiteBIT and Whitepay have facilitated over $ 160 million in crypto donations, supporting both humanitarian and defense-related fundraising.”

The exchange concluded by saying that despite the initial loss of users after exiting the Russian market, the business has grown more than eightfold.

Ukraine increases cryptocurrency usage during the war

Although Ukraine has long been early in adopting cryptocurrency, adoption significantly increased after Russia's invasion.

More began to use cryptocurrency for fundraising campaigns and donations, as this allowed for faster and more effective transfers to where the funds were needed. This change began even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A report from Elliptic shows that Ukrainian NGOs and volunteer groups created crypto wallets to receive donations, raising just over $ 570000 in 2021.

In February 2022, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a law that officially legalized cryptocurrencies.

One year into Russia's war against Ukraine, these figures had increased by about 122 times. A report from Chainalysis in 2023 showed that donations to addresses from Ukrainian authorities had risen to nearly $ 70 million.

The use of cryptocurrency remains widespread among Ukrainians. Although basic legislation has legalized digital assets, authorities continue to work on comprehensive regulation and a formal tax system.