If you would have supposed that Ukraine had enough problems to make banning bitcoins a backburner issue, you'd have been wrong. The rationale, "to protect consumers' rights" makes little to no sense… The other one, "to keep money in the country" makes more sense.
Ukraine Central Bank Bans Bitcoin "To Protect Citizens" From Financing Terrorism
Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.
The Hryvnia has collapsed to new record lows near 15/USD this morning. The Central Bank and bankers "agreed to keep UAH at 15-16/USD" but are "not planning on new FX market restrictions." However, there is one terrifying 'currency' that needs to be curtailed… Bitcoin. As The National Bank of Ukraine explains, "In order to protect consumers' rights," the virtual currency Bitcoin cannot be used in Ukraine as a means of payment.
With the UAH hitting new record lows…
The Ukraine Central Bank has decided the ban Bitcoin…
The virtual currency Bitcoin can not be used in Ukraine as a means of payment.Reported official representative of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on Facebook.
According to the regulator which has to ensure real value, virtual currencies are "money substitutes."
Also, the National Bank of Ukraine stressed that the international spread payments using Bitcoin has made this category of services attractive to illegal activities, including money laundering of crime or financing terrorism.
"In order to protect consumers' rights and security of the money transfer National Bank recommends that you use the services of only those payment systems, settlement systems, which are included in the register of payment systems, settlement systems, participants in these systems and service providers payment infrastructure" – the representatives of the regulator.
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Because there's nothing worse than your citizens having free reign to transfer the collapsing value of their Hyrvnia into a non-Hyrvnia alternative… especially when The IMF has leant you money.
