Ukraine Wants To Become The Cryptocurrency Capital of The World

Kiev, Ukraine - Thirty-seven-year-old pirate Michael Chobanyan, who was educated in a British private school,  is fluent in English and is familiar with Ukrainian customs that consider the borders lawless. Founder of Kuna, one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges in Eastern Europe. If 4,444 people have the courage to navigate a system rife with corruption, their home country is a great place to do business.

He explains that the main advantage of an office overlooking the Dnieper is freedom not seen in developed countries for hundreds of years. For example, you can commit murder. “In this country, if you have money and are tied up, you can kill people without going to jail,” he said, sipping tea on the soft leather sofa. "If you don't connect, it costs more."

The ethos of everything has plagued Ukraine for years and now the government is hoping to bury it in cryptocurrency. In early September, Congress passed legislation legalizing and regulating Bitcoin.

This is the first step in an ambitious campaign to popularize Bitcoin trading and brand the entire country. "The big idea is to become one of the best jurisdictions in the world for crypto companies," said Alexander Bornyakov, two-year Deputy Minister for Digital Innovation. “We believe this is the new economy, this is the future, and  this will help our economy grow.”

He turned the theme into a 90-second ad selling Ukraine the same way  Apple sells gadgets. In the techno soundtrack, we see a montage of bakers, executives, nurses and other villagers who are content with some sort of hi-tech nirvana. “We invest in startups and create the right conditions for them to grow,” says an English-speaking female storyteller. “Our goal is to create the most comfortable country in the world for both people and businesses.”

Bornyakov took the message to this message: Ukraine, the ultimate destination for entrepreneurs looking for low taxes, minimal paperwork and lots of skilled engineers at roadshows, including  summer tours of Silicon Valley. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Stanford University students. Many economists and politicians view cryptocurrencies with great skepticism, denouncing them as the currency of choice for money launderers, terrorists, mafia and ransomware.

But now there is Crypto Got Talent, an international competition in which many countries participate. As entrepreneurs become active in the field, some governments have made  simple calculations. Investors need to persuade them to invest in these companies. And recently, investors have been working frenziedly. Funding for all blockchain-related technologies, including cryptocurrencies, games, infrastructure and NFTs, surged to $7 billion in the first half of this year, according to industry tracking firm CB Insights.

So Poland is offering tax cuts and financial aid to attract technicians, and poaching in Ukraine. (Mr Bornjakov says a counterattack is in development.) Lithuania, Estonia, Malta, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam are also in the race. For Ukraine, it's not just about new jobs and additional tax revenue. Contaminated by decades of financial scandal and plagued by oligarchic tyranny, Ukraine is today  the second poorest country in Europe.

By diligently meddling in the dominant digital financial system and culture (with online passports  already circulating), Ukrainian leaders are hoping for a massive reboot that rewrites the long story of chaos and resourcefulness that has plagued the country since  independence from Russia. 1991 The thing is, a lot of tech entrepreneurs here say they like systems as they are, especially  flaws. This leads to the paradox underlying Ukraine's attempt to reinvent itself. States often give light and legitimacy to groups of leaders who favor darkness and quasi-criminal status.

Ukraine has already lured some Americans and Britons into the crypto industry, but they didn't come because they are supporters of the rule of law. Instead, they go crazy about everything from cheap restaurants to crazy rave. Moreover, the government has no idea what they are doing or how much they are earning. “There are no rules.” With a strange sense of civic pride, Chobayan says. "Well, there are rules, but you can break them. It's the perfect balance between absolute anarchy and opportunity."