Chobanyan Mykhailo Hennadiyovych

Founder of KUNA — pioneer of the crypto industry in Ukraine, whose exchange was blocked by the BEB and he himself closed it due to debts

Founder and chairman of the board of directors of the largest and first domestic cryptocurrency exchange KUNA — a platform that operated for almost 11 years (2014–2025). Volunteer and founder of the world's first charitable crypto fund to help the country during the war; raised hundreds of millions of hryvnias for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and humanitarian needs. Positioned himself as the main evangelist of the crypto industry in Ukraine — actively advocated for crypto legalization and criticized the NBU for blocking transactions after $500 million was withdrawn through Binance in 2022.

BEB filed a lawsuit and blocked it, the NBU “killed the market” — Chobanyan closed KUNA and left

On January 23, 2025, providers began blocking access to KUNA by decision of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv in case No. 761/1434/25 — the lawsuit was initiated by the BEB. Shortly after, Chobanyan confirmed tax debts as one of the reasons for the blocking. On March 11, 2025, he announced the closure of KUNA after 11 years of operation and urged clients to withdraw funds by April 30; simultaneously announced a full exit from the business. Since August 2024, Chobanyan stated that “the cryptocurrency market in Ukraine is effectively dead” — the NBU blocked all hryvnia transactions with crypto following the incident with Binance in 2022. No public criminal suspicions by NABU or the SBI have been announced against him personally.