One of the largest pharmacy chains in Ukraine, ANC Pharmacy, has partnered with Binance to enable bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments at all of their locations. With over 1,000 stores across the country, it is one of the largest implementations of bitcoin payments in Europe.
Access to the contactless payments will initially only be available at locations in Kyiv, per an official statement. In order to use bitcoin to pay for orders starting on January 3, patrons will need to download the Binance application and then complete their purchase at the ANC website with Binance Pay, before picking up their order at the store.
This is not the first time Binance has partnered with a Ukrainian chain to accept bitcoin payments. Previously, Binance worked with grocery chain VARUS to enable cryptocurrency payments at their stores. Binance also offered a Refugee Crypto Card for Ukranians forced to leave their country as a result of the war with Russia in April of 2022.
As the war and other recent global events have shown, having sovereign money that is easily transportable and is not tethered to any one country is increasingly important, and educating people about Bitcoin in that region is a vital goal. A Bitcoin Core developer using the technology to help facilitate aid in the region demonstrated the effectiveness of Bitcoin in situations like the one Ukranians are facing. The Human Rights Foundation’s Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein also illustrated the impact Bitcoin was having on the region in May 2022.
Bitcoin Magazine has its own Ukrainian branch, which helps with our mission to spread Bitcoin adoption across the world, including in the Eastern European region.