Mykola, you have succeeded in the world of cryptocurrencies and investments thanks to your hard work and talent in developing crypto projects. Could you tell us more about your key achievements and discoveries in this area?
I have been working in the investment business and the cryptocurrency world for over 10 years. Back in 2013, I founded the now well-known Prof-IT company, which develops blockchain technologies for crypto exchanges.
A year later, in 2014, I founded ASSUR, an insurance company that insured digital assets. It was then that I realized that I should develop in the field of blockchain technologies.
Since 2015, I have been involved in financial transactions on one of the crypto exchanges, and in 2017, my team and I created our crypto exchange. Then we improved it, and that’s how Coinsbit came to be.
In 2018, the Coinsbit exchange, which I changed to a digital share in the form of bitcoin in 2019, won first place at the prestigious international Blockchain Live conference, and this was probably the first serious recognition of my team’s and my work.
In 2019, I founded the PRMR marketing company, which focuses on the development, promotion, and assistance of promising startups. also, to help beginners in this business, in January 2020, I organized a large blockchain conference called Chain2020, which was attended by more than 14 thousand people. It was the largest project on this topic.
2020 was a very fruitful year for me in general. We also launched the construction of EVO Сountry Сlub, a residential complex for IT workers. This project was innovative because it has no analogs in Ukraine. It was supposed to be comfortable housing and amenities in a small village, where the best minds, developers of modern technologies, and creative programmers with families would live. This was supposed to help avoid the brain drain to the West and contribute to the development of the IT sector in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the Russian shelling destroyed this initiative, but after the war we will rebuild this town.
In November 2021, Bohdan Prylepa and I introduced a new Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange, Qmall. This exchange is fully regulated by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the National Bank.
Tell us about your first steps in the field of electronic money and how you earned your first million.
The people I talked to became quite deeply involved in cryptocurrencies and blockchain development. At first, I was superficially interested, but later, in 2014, I started to delve into programming seriously, and in 2015, we started selling our IT products. I usually play the role of a creator and product designer, and my technical partners implement everything.
As for the world of cryptocurrencies, it was quite significant for me to hear Bill Gates’ opinion: when he said that we should move in this direction, and he is a wise and incorruptible man, I decided to join in.
I earned my first million in 2014 by selling a network of payment terminals. After selling this business, I moved to Thailand and joined a community of crypto exchange developers.
For seven years, I lived in the jungle in Phuket, so to speak. During this time, my team and I created six cryptocurrency exchanges. At the same time, we were building up crypto assets. I got my first 5,000 bitcoins at a rate of $280-300 per coin.
I started spending my first bitcoins at $1,000 and stopped at $3,000. At $20,000, I also sold very successfully.
I created my seventh exchange, Coinsbit, for myself. A year after the launch, in 2019, I sold a 50% stake in the project for $60 million denominated in bitcoin.
That’s how the jungle on an exotic island changed into an office in Dubai.
What is your attitude to risks in the crypto business and how do you manage them?
I have always believed that you should service something new, some hype integrations, and then you will never be out of work. Many players on cryptocurrency exchanges manage to earn as much money as they do on classic stock trading. They also lose money in the same way. When someone makes money, someone is bound to lose.
Investing in cryptocurrencies will always have its advantages. No matter how much the price drops, it will always recover and give its plus. It’s just a matter of time and staying calm. Of course, this understanding comes with experience.
How do your projects differ from others in the field of cryptocurrencies and investments?
What is the difference between my projects? What used to be globalized, I started to mass-produce. What does this mean: that they are adapted for use in specific regions – in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. I started to bring these businesses into the legal field and license them. This is done so that customers can trust the business more and know that their assets are protected. The war in Ukraine is undoubtedly having a major impact on the business environment. How are you adapting your operations and investment decisions to the challenging environment? The war has caused me, as well as the vast majority of businesses operating in the Ukrainian market, significant losses. I won’t name the figures, but they are large sums. Unfortunately, some projects, mostly those related to my hometown of Kharkiv, had to be either closed or temporarily suspended. First of all, these are, of course, construction and real estate projects. The Cyberport educational project had to be completely relocated to Uzhhorod.
Of course, it has also become more difficult to work in the Ukrainian crypto market. In times of war, most people become poorer and distrustful of any project. This is a normal reaction of a person who wants to save money in such difficult times. That’s why we have to do more to educate people and improve their financial literacy. We also have to work harder on our own services, make our business more understandable, accessible, and I would even say more attractive to investors, so as not to lose market share.
After the war broke out, my team and I also revised the social policy of our business, because almost every employee had relatives or close friends who stayed in Ukraine and needed financial support. I’m not afraid to say it, my business has become more socially responsible.
How do you see the role of cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the context of war and reconstruction? What role do you see for Ukraine in the development of the global cryptocurrency and blockchain market?
To begin with, one of the most pressing issues in Ukraine today is the legislative regulation of cryptocurrencies. Due to the lack of adequate rules in this area, we still have underdeveloped crypto services.
Early last year, the President signed a law legalizing virtual assets in Ukraine. This made it possible to use cryptocurrencies to collect donations, not only for our army but also to organize the transportation of large volumes of humanitarian aid to all those who need it.
However, a year later, the NBU decided to impose restrictions on high-risk transactions. Ukrainian banks stopped working with exchanges, equating these transfers to gambling and betting niches. The absence of clear distinctions served as a kind of “shot in the foot,” because today thousands of people from all over the world want to fund armies but cannot.
At the end of 2023, the law will be updated to meet the European requirements of MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets – the EU law on the regulation of digital assets), taking into account Ukraine’s future membership in the EU. This will allow for a detailed explanation of key terms and establish the basis for tax regulation in areas related to cryptocurrencies. But there is one caveat.” Tax legislation may slow down this process.
A complete reboot will bring market players out of the shadows. Firstly, it means taxes to the state budget, and secondly, the full functioning of cryptocurrencies with the further development of niche businesses, including launchpads.
With legalization in line with EU regulations, businesses will get the green light to work with cryptocurrencies, allowing banks to freely handle such assets. This is a step towards new economic opportunities and a h2er budget. The most expected scenario is the growth of the country’s reputation in the international arena. Ukraine will become a magnet for investors.
But efficiency will also depend on the business climate. First of all, this concerns the government’s attitude to domestic startups and taxation. These factors are indicative.
If everything is done correctly, Ukraine will become a key player on the global crypto scene in the coming years. Don’t forget, that we are the forerunners in the blockchain market of developers and entrepreneurs, and we have an active community for the development and adaptation of new technologies. We are ready to help with the implementation of Security tokens, which act as digital representatives of real assets: stocks or bonds. These are completely new horizons for raising capital.
How do you plan to influence Ukraine’s tech space to help the country recover from the war?
Soon, we plan to create a Launchpad platform based on the Qmall crypto exchange. Its difference will be that it will be open exclusively to Ukrainian projects. This means that only Ukrainian startups that produce certain products related to blockchain, cryptocurrencies, metaverse, NFT games, etc. will be able to participate in this Launchpad.
It is very difficult for young companies to find start-up capital or investments to realize their ideas or launch a product. We can help with this. Each project that participates in our Launchpad platform will be guaranteed to receive UAH 20 million for development. We plan to “give a ticket to life” to about 70 such projects a year. That is, Ukrainian startups will be able to receive more than UAH 1 billion from foreign investors through the Qmall exchange. In addition, all participants of our platform will continue to be listed on the world’s three largest DEX exchanges and Qmall.
All potential participants will be carefully selected. To begin with, you need to have a promising finished product, or it should be at the final stage of development. In addition, the project must have a real team. The last point is that you need to have a certain amount of Qmall tokens to start on the Launchpad. You just need to wait for the launch of the Launchpad and, if you meet these criteria, apply.
I think this will happen as soon as our exchange receives the status of “fully regulated”. And now no Ukrainian crypto exchange can boast of this. The point is that Qmall is not only aiming to provide some services to Ukrainians and help startups, but we also want to legally replenish the state budget. We hope that this will be a 5% tax on the amount of fees on the Launchpad to the state.
How can your activities help Ukrainian society during the war and after it ends?
Unfortunately, a lot of the work done in the past years has been destroyed by the occupying country. I can say from my own experience that since 2020, I have been investing all my earnings in the development of Kharkiv. I built housing for IT workers, developed a tennis academy in the city, and built residential and commercial real estate. I worked on the creation of the first cyber institute in Ukraine, Cyberport, which started its work in Kharkiv and Uzhhorod in 2022. All these facilities have now been destroyed by Russian missiles. The Cyberport Institute, fortunately, remained unharmed and is fully operational.
Nevertheless, I do not lose faith in our victory and constantly try to help both the Armed Forces and my hometown. From the beginning of the war to the present day, I have helped to relocate orphanages to western Ukraine. Together with our business partners, we have provided over 30,000 hot meals and food packages for the elderly.
In addition, we bought shoes, radios, ammunition and bulletproof vests, and repaired cars for the Cyber Police and the SBU in the region. Together with MP Bakumov, we purchased 50 bulletproof vests for volunteers and members of the Kharkiv regional military commissariat. We also purchased 100 generators and 7 ambulances for Kupyansk, Izyum and Vovchansk. We are also working to support the functioning and restoration of destroyed churches in the cities of Kharkiv and Kamianske. I am talking about this only because I want to set an example for other entrepreneurs. Only together can we do more and return to a peaceful life faster.
What are your plans and ambitions in the field of crypto business and investments?
Our immediate goal is to obtain a license to operate the Qmall crypto exchange in Europe. We are currently in the process of obtaining the license. This will allow us to add a couple of hryvnia-euros to the crypto exchange, which will significantly expand its capabilities.
Це також спростить взаємодію європейської та української спільнот, що, у свою чергу, забезпечить хорошу ліквідність біржі. Уявіть собі, що українські та європейські користувачі біржі зможуть спілкуватися в межах нашого метавсесвіту. У нас також є ідея спробувати утримати Launchpad у метавсесвіті Qmall.
Загалом, глобальних планів багато, але тут головне не хапатися за все одразу, а доводити кожен проект до кінця один за одним.
