Ukrainian crypto users who relied on Binance to move funds straight from exchange to bank cards now face a sudden gap in their withdrawal toolkit.
The platform has reportedly paused direct fiat payouts to Visa and Mastercard for affected customers, turning a technical change in payment partners into a new test of how resilient crypto off‑ramps really are under tightening regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term, local media outlet Minfin reported.
Binance notified Ukrainian users that it suspended withdrawals to Visa and Mastercard bank cards, with the pause tied to changes at its fiat provider Bifinity UAB. The exchange said the update applies only to users in Ukraine who previously used Bifinity, rather than to its wider global customer base.
What Exactly Has Changed
The pause affects several automated features around fiat flows. Local reports say recurring crypto purchases and existing fiat‑based limit buy orders will not execute during the suspension.
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The disruption follows Binance’s December communication that Bifinity UAB would stop providing fiat services by the end of 2025 because of regulatory changes.
In that earlier notice, Binance said it would transition to other regulated providers and maintained that users would still be able to deposit, withdraw, buy, and sell crypto without interruption.
The Zen.com payment platform, often used for euro and Polish zloty transfers, has seen its full deposit and withdrawal functionality for these customers pushed back to an expected restart date of January 6, 2026.
Until then, users who want to move funds off the exchange must route transactions through Swift or rely on peer‑to‑peer trades where local rules allow.
What Still Works for Ukrainians
Despite the pause on card withdrawals, Binance continues to support several key on‑ramp options in Ukraine. Users can still top up accounts and buy crypto with Visa and Mastercard for incoming payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term, even though they cannot send funds back out to those same cards.
Digital wallets remain part of the toolkit. Apple Pay and Google Pay stay available for account funding, and Swift transfers still handle both deposits and withdrawals, preserving a bank‑linked channel for fiat.
A recent Financial Times investigation, based on leaked internal data, reported that 13 linked accounts processed about 1.7 billion dollars in transactions from 2021, including roughly 144 million dollars after Binance’s 4.3 billion dollar criminal settlement with United States authorities in November 2023.
Those accounts reportedly showed red flags, including alleged ties to networks later accused of moving money for sanctioned actors, and unusual login patterns.


