Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical shockwaves it’s creating is hitting nearly all corners of the global economy, including the nascent but fast-growing field of fintech.
- “As almost all tech companies have some exposure to Ukraine / Russia…. every CEO is now a ‘war-time’ CEO,” tweeted venture capitalist and fintech investor, Saar Gur.
It’s a topic close to the hearts of many executives and developers in the crypto and fintech ecosystem:
- Russian-Canadian Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin called the invasion a “crime.”
- Solana Labs’ Ukrainian-born founder, Antoly Yakovenko, tweeted that “Putin propelled us back to the 19th” century.
It’s also thrown fintechs involved in money transfers into the heart of the geopolitical crisis.
- Wise (LON: WISE) capped money transfers to Russia and Ukraine to about $224, citing recent developments making it “more difficult to operate our service.” A spokesperson in an email wrote, “We are monitoring the situation closely and will comply with all sanctions.”
- Brex confirmed it stopped cash and card transactions to or from Ukraine to comply…
