If you’ve paid any attention to crypto news in Eastern Europe, you’ve probably heard the name Kuna. For a while, it was the biggest name in Ukraine’s cryptocurrency scene. Now, it’s gone. So, what exactly happened to Kuna, and why did it shut down completely?
A Quick Look at Kuna
Kuna started back in 2014. It was actually the very first cryptocurrency exchange in Ukraine. Before Kuna, most Ukrainians didn’t have many easy ways to buy or sell crypto with their local currency.
It grew fast. Over the next decade, Kuna ended up serving more than 500,000 users, not just in Ukraine but across the whole CIS region (which includes countries like Russia, Belarus, and others from the former Soviet Union).
For a lot of people, Kuna was the easiest route to both buy and trade bitcoin, ether, and a bunch of other coins. It even got a bit of a reputation for being beginner-friendly. If you were new to crypto and living in Ukraine, chances are you at least tried Kuna once.
The War, Donations, and Kuna’s Big Moment
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was a huge shock to the whole country. Tons of people suddenly looked for new ways to move money quickly or donate to support the Ukrainian army and government projects.
That’s where Kuna suddenly became more than just a regular trading platform. The founder, Mykhailo Chobanian, partnered with Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation to launch what they called the Crypto Fund.
People from around the globe sent in donations using bitcoin, ether, and other cryptocurrencies. According to reports, the Crypto Fund collected over $100 million in crypto donations. Much of this went directly to supporting defense efforts, humanitarian aid, and supplies.
At the time, it seemed like Kuna was having its hero moment. Crypto was in the news a lot, and Kuna was the main organizer for Ukraine’s fundraising efforts. If you were following the war and crypto, you saw Kuna’s name pretty much everywhere.
Problems Start: Investigations and Legal Pressure
But the story wasn’t going to have a happy ending. By late 2024, things started turning sour for Kuna.
The first major issue came from Ukraine’s Bureau of Economic Security (BEB). This is basically the agency in charge of tax-related investigations and fighting financial crime. They began investigating Kuna, suspecting the exchange had been avoiding taxes.
The BEB estimated that Kuna had avoided around Hr.50 million in taxes—that’s about $1.19 million. For context, nobody is saying this had anything to do with war donations. The BEB focused on the company’s regular trading business.
This tax evasion allegation set off a chain reaction of legal headaches for the exchange.
Court Decisions and the Start of the Shutdown
In late January 2025, things escalated. The Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv made a decision that would essentially turn Kuna off for most Ukrainians.
At the request of the BEB, the court ordered internet providers to block access to Kuna’s website and services. Oddly enough, Kuna wasn’t actually represented at this court hearing. The decision to block access was made without any chance for the company to argue its side.
If you were a Kuna user in Ukraine, your access was gone almost overnight. The site just didn’t load anymore.
Shortly after this, on January 30, founder Mykhailo Chobanian went public: Kuna was going to stop operations globally. Not just in Ukraine. Not just a pause. A full stop.
No Sale, Just a Shutdown
When crypto exchanges get in trouble, they sometimes just sell off to somebody else. Maybe a bigger exchange swoops in, takes over the user base, and keeps things running under a new name. That didn’t happen with Kuna.
Chobanian made it clear—he wasn’t looking to sell. It wasn’t about getting a buyout. He decided that the best route was just to close it all down.
Why? Chobanian explained that he didn’t want to drag out a conflict with the government. He said he didn’t want to keep fighting with Ukrainian authorities. Instead, he would let users take out their money and shut the business for good.
So, if you had coins on Kuna, you had a final chance to get them out.
How the Withdrawal Process Worked
Chobanian’s team set up a very specific timeline. Users had two months to withdraw their cryptocurrencies or Ukrainian hryvnia balances.
The official withdrawal window ran until March 28, 2025. After that, no more withdrawals, no more logins, nothing. That deadline was firm.
According to people who used the service, the withdrawal process itself was pretty straightforward. If you logged into Kuna during those last two months, you could send your coins out to your own crypto wallet, or just withdraw Ukrainian hryvnias to your bank. No new deposits, no new trades—just getting your remaining funds out.
Some users posted on crypto forums about the last-minute rush, but overall, things went smoothly for most. There weren’t big waves of user complaints about lost funds, at least compared to some other crypto exchanges that have blown up before.
End of Kuna: The Final Cutoff
After March 28, 2025, the withdrawal window shut down. Chobanian repeated the message online: Kuna would stop all operations on April 30, 2025.
If you tried to visit the site after that date, you didn’t get much. No trading, no logins, no news. Just a message explaining that the business was closed.
For Ukrainian crypto users, it felt pretty strange. Kuna had been around for more than ten years. Most people knew someone who had made their first bitcoin trade with their Ukranian hryvnias on the Kuna platform.
Users who still had questions were told to contact support through email or social media. But after April 30, Kuna was officially gone.
What’s Next for Kuna’s Founder?
So, what about Mykhailo Chobanian? He’s been a pretty vocal figure in both the Ukrainian financial scene and the wider crypto world for years.
After the shutdown, Chobanian said he didn’t plan to set up another exchange or even stay in the cryptocurrency business. He explained on social media that he wouldn’t fight the state over Kuna. Instead, he planned to switch focus to two big areas: social projects and artificial intelligence.
He hasn’t given a lot of detail yet. But if you follow his accounts online, he’s talked a lot about the risks and future of AI for society. Chobanian has always been more public and outspoken than your average tech founder, so we’ll probably hear more as he settles on what those projects will be.
Cryptocurrency in Ukraine After Kuna
Kuna’s exit leaves a big gap. Even though there are other ways for Ukrainians to buy crypto (foreign exchanges, peer-to-peer apps, and so on), for many locals, Kuna was the fastest and most reliable homegrown option.
For businesses that depended on crypto trading, and for activists raising funds during the war, the closure also meant they had to look for new solutions. Some are turning to international platforms, but these often charge higher fees or have more hoops to jump through.
The story is a reminder that regulation and legal risks are becoming a bigger part of crypto, especially in countries dealing with economic, social, or military upheaval. For those looking for alternatives or related business insights in similar markets, you might want to check out this site for broader analysis.
How Users Are Coping
Many ordinary users who kept at least part of their crypto on Kuna are now learning lessons about self-custody. Crypto fans often say, “not your keys, not your coins” — meaning, if you don’t actually control the wallet, you could be out of luck if things go south.
A few Ukrainian Telegram groups and forums have seen more people asking how to set up their own wallets and safely manage their coins. The closure has even sparked conversations about whether there’s space for a new homegrown exchange in Ukraine, or if everyone will have to get used to international platforms.
It’s worth remembering that the shutdown didn’t come from any kind of hack or technical disaster. It was old-fashioned legal and tax troubles that brought Kuna down.
Final Thoughts
So, is Kuna going out of business? That’s already settled. As of April 30, 2025, Kuna’s crypto exchange is completely shut down, with no plans to restart.
For more than ten years, it was the go-to place for millions across Ukraine and the CIS region. It helped shape the way crypto worked in the country—not just for traders but for people trying to move money, donate, or simply dip their toes in digital coins for the first time.
These days, the founder is moving on to other projects, and Ukrainian crypto fans are figuring out their next moves. The whole saga shows how quickly the crypto landscape can change, especially when legal and political pressure starts to build.
That’s where things stand for now. If you were a Kuna customer, hopefully you got your funds out in time and are exploring new platforms for trading or saving your coins. For Ukraine’s crypto scene, it’s definitely the end of one chapter—and the start of another, with plenty of uncertainty about what comes next.
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