One of the largest pharmacy chains in Ukraine, ANC Pharmacy, has partnered with Binance to enable bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments at all of its locations. With more than 1,000 stores across the country, it is one of the largest bitcoin payment implementations in Europe.
Initially, access to contactless payments will only be available at locations in Kyiv, according to a official statement. To use bitcoin to pay for orders starting January 3, users will need to download the Binance app and then complete their purchase on the ANC website with Binance Pay, before picking up their order at the store.
This is not the first time that Binance has partnered with a Ukrainian chain to accept bitcoin payments. Formerly, Binance worked with supermarket chain VARUS to allow payments with cryptocurrencies in their stores. Binance also offered a Crypto card for refugees for Ukrainians forced to leave their country as a result of the war with Russia in April 2022.
As the war and other recent global events have shown, having sovereign money that is easily transportable and not tied 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 relief in the region demonstrated the effectiveness of Bitcoin in situations like the one facing Ukrainians. Human Rights Foundation chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein also illustrated the impact Bitcoin was having on the region in May 2022.
Bitcoin Magazine has its own Ukrainian branchwhich helps with our mission of spreading Bitcoin adoption around the world, including in the Eastern European region.
