HitBit Pro Interview: Crypto Payments Rise In Ukraine Despite Transfer Limits

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine has ranked among the top nations using cryptocurrency. According to the September 2024 Global Adoption Report by Chainanlysis, Ukraine is No. 6 in crypto adoption.

The war has caused significant economic instability in Ukraine, including a weakened Hryvnia, Ukraine's national fiat currency, and banking disruptions in many regions, which have limited access to traditional financial services. To limit the exodus of wealth from the country, the Ukraine government put restrictions on cross-border money transfers and foreign fiat currency withdrawals.

The Ukrainian government did embrace cryptocurrency on a regulatory level. From the start of the war, cryptocurrency became a vital channel for timely international donations to NGOs and the Ukrainian government. According to United24, the official fundraising platform for Ukraine, cryptocurrency donations have totaled $923,514,470 from the global community.

With limits on sending money abroad and the rising popularity of cryptocurrency, the beta launch of HitBit Pro, a Ukraine-based fintech platform that offers Telegram integration and a fiat-like experience, has been a natural extension.

"We launched HitBit Pro at the end of November 2024. We did a small campaign in Ukraine, but people around the world can apply, proceed with KYC, and use our service. At this point, we have a lot of Ukrainians who live in Europe, Turkey, Asia (like Bali), and all over the world. With their user experience and feedback, we can find out what to improve in general, but we do the same with feedback from Germans and Poles," Igor Kucherenko, co-founder of HitBit Pro said in an interview with Benzinga.

"We got a lot of valuable feedback, fixed everything, and we're still in the process of upgrading a couple of things. In mid-January, we're planning to have a massive marketing campaign in Ukraine with Ukrainian retailers. For Europe, it will probably be three to four months from now because it's a more complicated process. You have to take it to each country as a separate case.”

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HitBit Pro has helped Ukrainians make international money transfers and is trying to provide an experience similar to fiat and Web2 money transfer services.

"For Ukrainians, it's a great solution to the challenges caused by the restrictions imposed by the National Bank of Ukraine on international transactions. The limits are very low, which makes it hard for families living abroad to transfer money from Ukraine. With HitBit Pro, you can use SEPA to wire money, pay rent, school fees, or even doctors, without relying only on cards," Kucherenko said.

HitBit Pro allows a one-time payment limit of 10,000 euros and a daily transaction limit of 50,000 euros. It also offers physical cards and standard ATM and local bank fees apply.

The goal of HitBit Pro is to provide a seamless service for transfers and payments that bridges the gap between cryptocurrency and traditional finance (TradFi) users. To do that, the company must overcome the perception of cryptocurrency as innately speculative.

"Instead of using traditional fiat cards with lots of restrictions, regulations and compliance, users can use our platform. For most people, when they hear crypto, they think of speculation, investments and volatility. HitBit Pro has nothing to do with that. It's like using fiat, but you pay into your account with crypto instead," said Kucherenko.

Kucherenko described the platform as a conventional nano-bank technology that allows a Visa- or Mastercard-like experience. The only difference is on the backend where payments are made using cryptocurrency instead of fiat.

"The idea is to build a bridge for the 90% of people who have never experienced crypto, showing them how it can be part of their daily lives,” said Kucherenko.

“Cash has become almost obsolete now. Transactions are electronic, whether it's traditional money or crypto. There's no real difference between fiat and crypto on the front end for users. When you're traveling, for instance, if you're using a U.S. card in Bali, the system automatically handles currency conversion. The same applies to crypto. The system handles the conversion seamlessly if you have USDT or any other cryptocurrency," said the HitBit Pro co-founder.

Kucherenko compares the HitBit Pro experience to Apple Pay, Google Pay or other popular web-based payment methods. Users don't need to understand blockchain, mining or any technical details. He said it's the same as using Visa or Mastercard. Only the backend is cryptocurrency, and there's no need for complicated procedures to set up or maintain an account or wallet.

"People need to understand that crypto is no longer a pilot project. It's a reality. The sooner they accept it, the faster they can become part of this new world we already live in. Crypto is a currency. Whether people like it or not, it's a reality, and it's becoming a practical tool for daily transactions," said. Kucherenko.

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