Ukraine continues adopting cryptocurrency payments with crypto exchange Binance amid the ongoing war with Russia.
Amid the ongoing war, pharmacies in Ukraine are accepting digital payments, with a major local chain supporting payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
ANC Pharmacy, one of the largest pharmacy chains in the country, has partnered with Binance Ukraine to debut cryptocurrency payments via contactless crypto payment service Binance Pay. The chain officially announced on Jan. 3 that ANC Pharmacy now allows its customers to make instant payments when purchasing medicines online.
The pharmacy chain operates more than 1,000 pharmacies in Ukraine and offers its own online pharmacy service. According to the announcement, Binance Pay payments will first be launched in Kyiv.
The new payment feature will be available at ANC pharmacies and ANC pharmacy-operated stores such as Kopiyka and Shara. “ANC, Kopiyka and Shara are the first pharmacies in Europe to accept cryptocurrencies,” the announcement said.
In order to make cryptocurrency payments, users need to download the Binance app and then visit the ANC’s website. After selecting products to order online, users will be able to pay with Binance Pay and pick up their order at their preferred location. Initially, Binance was reluctant to freeze the accounts of Russian customers, claiming that many of them had nothing to do with the war in Eastern Europe.
Tough currency sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union in April changed that trend, with the platform limiting its services to Russian residents holding more than 10,000 euros in cryptocurrency.
It also terminated the accounts of some individuals linked to senior Russian politicians. For example, Elizaveta Peskova (daughter of Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov) and Polina Kovaleva (stepdaughter of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov).
