Binance
Coinbase
Huobi
Kraken
Bitfinex
Poloniex
Bybit
OKX
BitGet
WhiteBit
KuCoin
Gate.io
MEXC
crypto.com
Bitstamp by Robinhood
Upbit
Bithumb
BingX
BitMart
Gemini
LBankCrypto exchanges: rating and comparison for users from Ukraine
About the rating
Not everyone needs a crypto exchange for the same thing. One person wants to buy USDT for hryvnia quickly, another wants low fees, a third a wide choice of altcoins, a fourth the most reliable platform for basic spot trading.
The Current Ukraine rating compares exchanges by practical criteria: hryvnia availability, regulatory status, evidence of asset safekeeping, incident history, liquidity, fees and suitability for a beginner. We do not rank exchanges by trading volume: a large exchange can be inconvenient for a first purchase, and an exchange with thousands of coins can be risky for a beginner.
What changed in v4. This is the first full recalculation of the rating. Grades are no longer assigned editorially; they are computed by a fixed model of seven weighted criteria. First we checked what had happened to every exchange in the previous line-up, then gathered the evidence for each criterion, and only then computed the letters. Because of this v4 has many grade movements, and each of them has a reason in the "Rating actions" section.
What changed in v4.1. This is a technical refinement of the model and the evidence base: the forecast was separated from the research completeness status, the monotonicity of the regulatory criterion was fixed, along with several inputs on fees, hryvnia and regulatory status. Weights and grade thresholds did not change; no letter in the main rating changed.
This rating is about a user in Ukraine. For users in the EU/EEA the conclusions may be the opposite: an exchange without a hryvnia channel may be the best option in Poland or Italy, and the exchange with the best P2P may be unavailable for new operations. Where this is fundamental, we note it separately in the table.
Important for EU/EEA residents. After the applicable MiCA transition period ends, no later than 1 July 2026, crypto services in the EU must be provided by an authorised provider. The stablecoin rules differ from the Ukrainian ones: USDT is not admitted to trading or public offering on regulated venues that comply with MiCA. Individuals are not forbidden to hold USDT; custody and transfers may remain available depending on the specific service. On many venues USDC and EURC have become the baseline MiCA-compliant stablecoins. Before transferring funds, check the current rules of the specific exchange.
Territorial restrictions. Some international exchanges restrict access from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Check the current Terms of Service before registering. For example, Bybit's list of restricted jurisdictions explicitly names the russian-controlled regions of Ukraine, including Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk.
How we assess exchanges
This is an editorial assessment, not investment advice and not a guarantee of safety. The grade shows how strong an exchange looks across the verified criteria for a user from Ukraine.
We do not use decimal scores like 9.7 or 8.4: that precision is illusory for crypto exchanges. Instead, every exchange is scored on seven criteria, each criterion has a fixed weight, and the sum is converted into a grade on an unchanging scale.
Criteria and their weights
| Criterion | Weight | What exactly we check |
|---|---|---|
| Hryvnia availability | 22 | whether there is a public, confirmed channel for UAH deposits and withdrawals |
| Asset safekeeping | 18 | Proof of Reserves or an audited equivalent: type of evidence, who attests it, cut-off date |
| Regulatory status | 18 | legal entity, regulator, decision date, per the register rather than the exchange's own claim |
| Incidents and sanctions | 15 | hacks, sanctions, regulator decisions, criminal proceedings |
| Liquidity and scale | 12 | BTC order book depth within ±2% of the mid price |
| Fees | 10 | the base taker fee for a retail client without discounts or promo codes |
| Beginner suitability | 5 | interface complexity and the quality of the coin set |
Three rules that apply on top of the scores. Active sanctions against the operating legal entity give grade D and forbid an affiliate link. Non-compliant status in the ESMA register caps the grade at C. If the regulatory status is not established at all, the grade cannot be higher than C+, regardless of how good the exchange looks on the other criteria. What is not established does not count in an exchange's favour.
And one rule about ourselves. No incidents found is not the same as a clean history. If we have not completed a full check of the domain, the exchange gets 0.85 rather than 1.0. "We found nothing" is a fact about our check, not about the exchange.
Rating scale
| Grade | Score | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 90+ | category leader, a strong exchange on almost every criterion | |
| 80–89 | a strong exchange that can be considered as the main choice | |
| 70–79 | a good exchange, but with notable limitations | |
| 55–69 | a workable option for specific tasks | |
| 45–54 | only for experienced users or narrow scenarios | |
| 30–44 | elevated risk, beginners had better avoid it | |
| <30 or a hard rule | not recommended for registration |
In v4 no exchange received grade A+. That is not a mistake: on the available evidence nobody reaches 90 points. We consider that more honest than artificially appointing an "ideal leader".
Forecast
| Forecast | What it means |
|---|---|
| Stable | no fresh factors that require a quick review |
| Positive | the exchange is improving its terms, availability, transparency or liquidity |
| Negative | a significant active risk: sanctions, a regulator's ban, withdrawal restrictions |
| Under review | there is an unfinished process that may change the grade soon |
Hryvnia availability levels
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Direct fiat + P2P | a public card or bank channel and a P2P route were found |
| Active P2P | a live market page for buying/selling for UAH opens |
| UAH listed | the currency is mentioned in the documentation, but a live market and its liquidity are not confirmed |
| No channel found | we checked the official materials and saw no public channel; this is not a guarantee that no third-party route exists |
| No UAH | hryvnia is absent from the current list of supported currencies, a stronger negative proof than "not found" |
Main crypto exchange rating
← scroll the table horizontally →
Regulatory status, hryvnia channels and fees were checked as of 14.08.2026. The presence of P2P does not guarantee a specific bank, rate, limit or counterparty.
Rating actions in v4
This is the first full recalculation under the new methodology, so there are many changes. Below is every change with its reason.
HTX / Huobi: C+ → D. Sanctions
On 26 May 2026 the United Kingdom added Huobi Global S.A., the legal entity behind the HTX exchange, to its sanctions list under the russia sanctions regime. This is the first application of the relevant provision to a crypto exchange; the stated grounds were providing services to the A7 network and the sanctioned exchange Garantex. Several large venues announced that transfers linked to HTX would undergo additional compliance checks, a practical risk for the user, not just a formality.
Under our methodology active sanctions against the operating legal entity give grade D and forbid an affiliate link for as long as the sanctions remain in force. This is the first grade D in the rating's history.
Binance: A+ → B
For a user in Ukraine nothing has changed: the UAH P2P market works and remains the largest by volume. Since 29 December 2025 direct withdrawals to Visa/Mastercard cards for Ukrainian users have been suspended, while card deposits, Apple Pay / Google Pay and SWIFT transfers remained available.
The grade reflects the body of evidence, not availability. In this cycle we recorded no active CASP authorisation for Binance in any EU country, and from 1 July 2026 the exchange stopped providing new crypto services to EU clients and halted new registrations; existing assets remained available for withdrawal. Separately, the date of the latest Proof of Reserves cut-off could not be established from the public page, so this criterion is counted partially. The forecast is "Under review": the company has stated its intention to apply in another member state.
MEXC: B → C. Capped by the register
MEXC Global appears in ESMA's register of non-compliant entities, and the Dutch AFM warned about the provision of crypto services without the required MiCA authorisation. Under the methodology this caps the grade at C and forbids an affiliate link and a standard recommendation for the EU/EEA segment. It is unrelated to reserves: MEXC has a fresh audited PoR, but a positive reserve figure does not cancel the register status.
OKX: B+ → A · Gate.io: B → A
Both exchanges were upgraded for the same reason: a specific legal entity in the register with a decision date, a current dated Proof of Reserves and a confirmed hryvnia P2P market were recorded. In previous versions these facts had not been verified and were not counted.
Bybit: B → B+
Bybit is the first exchange to have completed the full verification cycle on all criteria. The February 2025 hack (about $1.5 billion; the FBI attributed the theft to the DPRK) remains a substantial minus for the grade, but it is a historical event rather than an active risk, so the forecast is stable.
Kraken, Coinbase, Bitstamp: B+ → B
The reason is shared and single: these exchanges have no hryvnia channel. Hryvnia availability weighs 22 points out of a hundred, the largest weight in the model, because it is exactly what distinguishes a rating for a Ukrainian user from a global one. On every other criterion these are strong venues: Coinbase has the best evidence of asset safekeeping in the whole rating (audited reporting filed with the SEC), and Kraken has a Central Bank of Ireland authorisation with a detailed split of services between two legal entities.
For a reader in the EU the conclusion would be different. We plan a separate assessment for the EU/EEA segment.
Crypto.com: B → C+ · Gemini: B → C · Bitfinex: B → C
Crypto.com: no hryvnia, and the last confirmed reserves cut-off dates from December 2022. Gemini holds a MiCA authorisation for Gemini Intergalactic EU Ltd, yet from 6 April 2026 it closed client accounts in the UK, the EEA and Australia; the low grade here is due not to a missing licence but to the loss of practical relevance for our audience, the absence of UAH and high base fees. We are considering removing it from the rating in the next cycle. Bitfinex: regulatory status not established; zero trading fees do not compensate for an empty regulatory block.
Bitget: B+ → B
As of 2 July 2026 Bitget reported a filed application for MiCAR authorisation with the Austrian FMA, with no regulator decision. Hryvnia is on the P2P currency list, but we did not confirm a live market or its liquidity.
New in the rating: Poloniex, CEX.IO, Bitvavo, Bitpanda, Bit2Me
Poloniex was missing from previous versions by mistake. CEX.IO was added as an illustrative case: the exchange works with Ukrainian users but explicitly states that hryvnia cards from Ukraine cannot be used for deposits; cards in euros or dollars are accepted. Bitvavo, Bitpanda and Bit2Me are licensed European venues relevant to the Ukrainian diaspora; in the rating for Ukraine they receive low grades precisely because of the absence of hryvnia.
Removed from the rating: Upbit and Bithumb
Large but predominantly Korean exchanges. They were in the previous version for volume and did not answer the question "where can a Ukrainian buy and store crypto".
Winding down or already closed
These venues do not receive a grade among operating exchanges. We show them separately, with dates, because if you have funds there what matters is not the assessment but the deadline.
| Venue | What happened | Key dates |
|---|---|---|
| BitMart | Phased closure announced | Announced 26.07.2026. Trading stops on 26 August 2026, full platform closure is scheduled for 31 January 2027. New registrations, deposits and orders have already been halted. |
| BitMEX | Exchange closure | Announced 23.07.2026; closure on 23 September 2026, 04:00 UTC. |
| EXMO | Wind-down after sanctions and a shortfall of funds | Announced 14.07.2026. EXMO reported that 29.4% of its liabilities to users were uncovered and converted them into a non-tradable receipt token. The group's legal entity was added to the UK sanctions list on 26.05.2026. |
| AscendEX | Operations ceased | From 1 July 2026. |
| Kuna | Operations ceased | The oldest Ukrainian crypto exchange officially ceased operations on 31 March 2025. |
The EXMO case is worth reading carefully even by those who kept no funds there: users got back 70.6% and a receipt for the rest. That is the shortest answer to the question of why one should look at an exchange's reserves and regulatory status at all before depositing money.
Our pick
WhiteBIT — for starting out in the Ukrainian context
StableWhiteBIT suits a user who wants to start with hryvnia and clear local tools: it is the only exchange in the rating with a confirmed direct fiat channel in hryvnia in addition to P2P.
When to choose it: you need a clear start with hryvnia, local relevance matters, and you want several hryvnia tools in one place.
When not to choose it: you plan to trade rare altcoins or need maximum global liquidity.
What to know about fees: trading fees are low, but fiat operations depend on the method. In Card Transfer check the fee, the limits and the actual credited amount before the operation. In P2P Express the formal fee may be lower, but the real costs are often hidden in the rate and spread of the specific provider.
EU/EEA: on 18 June 2026 the Austrian FMA authorised WB-Shield Innovations GmbH under MiCAR. The list of services published by the FMA covers custody, exchange of crypto for fiat and for other crypto, placement and transfers, but does not include operating a trading platform or executing orders. The authorisation extends to the EEA except Malta. As of 14 August the separate whitebit.eu site is still marked Coming Soon, so we do not describe it as a launched exchange for EEA residents.
What we flag as a weak point: the only reserves audit of WhiteBIT we found dates from November 2024. It is the oldest dated proof of asset safekeeping among the major participants of the rating, and it is exactly what keeps the exchange in the lower part of grade A rather than the upper. An updated report would noticeably strengthen its position.
Why "Our pick" is not the exchange with the highest score. The highest score in v4 belongs to Gate.io, and on the evidence that is deserved. But the grade measures the exchange; it does not answer the question "where to start". Gate.io has one of the widest token sets in the rating, and for a beginner that is not an advantage but a way to quickly buy a weak asset. "Our pick" answers a different question, and so it is different.
For experienced users
These exchanges can be useful for specific tasks but are not the best first step.
| Exchange | When it can be useful | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Gate.io | wide choice of altcoins, active UAH P2P | a beginner can easily buy a weak token |
| OKX | Web3, trading bots, P2P with UAH | more complex for a first purchase; P2P risks must be understood |
| Bybit | derivatives, high liquidity, active UAH P2P | a major security incident in 2025 |
| KuCoin | altcoins, active UAH P2P | a guilty plea in the US in 2025; the European entity is still barred from operating by the regulator |
| Bitget | copy trading, futures | copy trading creates the illusion of easy earnings; no licence yet |
What to check before registering
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The hryvnia withdrawal method | buying cryptocurrency is always easier than withdrawing the funds afterwards |
| The actual rate and spread in P2P or Card Transfer | the formal fee may be low, but an unfavourable rate makes the operation more expensive |
| Current fees | fee schedules change; in 2026 several large exchanges revised them substantially |
| The date of the latest reserves report | the mere existence of Proof of Reserves without a fresh date means little |
| KYC | documents, timelines and available methods change |
| Regional restrictions | some exchanges restrict access from certain territories |
| Futures, leverage, copy trading | these products can lead to losses quickly |
About affiliate links
Some of the exchange links are affiliate links: if you register through such a link, Kurs may receive compensation from the exchange. In the rating table the name of such an exchange is an affiliate link, with an "affiliate" label beneath it.
The presence or absence of an affiliate programme does not affect the grade and does not determine "Our pick". We do not place affiliate links for exchanges graded C, C+ or D, nor for platforms under sanctions or with a negative status in a regulator's register, regardless of whether an affiliate programme is active. In this version the links to Bitfinex, MEXC, HTX, LBank and BingX were removed for these reasons.
The absence of a link does not mean a negative assessment: some exchanges simply have no affiliate programme or it is unavailable for Ukraine.
Rating update policy
| What we update | How often |
|---|---|
| Sanctions, exchange closures, regulator bans, withdrawal problems | out of schedule, as soon as the fact appears |
| Hryvnia channels | monthly |
| Regulatory status per the registers | quarterly |
| Reserves report dates | quarterly |
| Rating grades | quarterly or out of schedule on an event |
| Full methodology audit | once a year |
Some criteria are still being strengthened: in the next update we will add a standardised all-in cost that accounts for the spread and timestamped liquidity measurements. In v4.1 the grade already takes the base retail fee and the available depth screening into account, but we do not yet consider these two blocks definitively measured. The "Under review" forecast means an unfinished external process or a factor capable of changing the grade; it is no longer used as a synonym for an incomplete evidence base.
Update history
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 14.08.2026 | v4.1: Forecast separated from Evidence readiness, the monotonicity of the regulatory criterion fixed; weights and grade thresholds unchanged |
| 14.08.2026 | v4.1: Bybit fees, Gemini's regulatory status, the negative UAH status of Bitvavo/Bitpanda/Bit2Me, the date of the AFM warning on MEXC and the date of Bitget's public announcement refined; grades unchanged |
| 14.08.2026 | Rating v4 published, the first full recalculation under the new model of seven weighted criteria |
| 14.08.2026 | HTX / Huobi downgraded from C+ to D over the UK sanctions of 26.05.2026; affiliate link removed |
| 14.08.2026 | Binance downgraded from A+ to B: no active CASP authorisation in the EU recorded, EU services restricted since 01.07.2026, reserves cut-off date unconfirmed |
| 14.08.2026 | MEXC downgraded from B to C over non-compliant status in the ESMA register; affiliate link removed |
| 14.08.2026 | OKX upgraded from B+ to A, Gate.io from B to A, Bybit from B to B+ after confirmation of legal entities in the registers and current reserves reports |
| 14.08.2026 | Kraken, Coinbase and Bitstamp downgraded from B+ to B over the absence of a hryvnia channel |
| 14.08.2026 | Crypto.com downgraded to C+, Gemini and Bitfinex to C |
| 14.08.2026 | "Winding down" block added with dates for BitMart, BitMEX, EXMO, AscendEX and Kuna |
| 14.08.2026 | Regulatory status column added with the legal entity name, regulator and decision date |
| 14.08.2026 | Poloniex, CEX.IO, Bitvavo, Bitpanda and Bit2Me added to the rating; Upbit and Bithumb removed |
| 14.08.2026 | The judgemental columns "Reliability", "Fees" and "Liquidity" removed from the table: they will return only as measured indicators |
| 05.05.2026 | First version of the Kurs Exchange Rating methodology published with the grade scale and forecast |
Sources used
- ESMA — register of authorised CASPs and register of non-compliant entities
- FMA Austria — authorisations of WB-Shield Innovations GmbH, Bybit EU GmbH, KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH, Bitpanda GmbH
- Central Bank of Ireland / Kraken — CASP authorisation of Payward Europe Solutions Limited and Payward Global Solutions Limited
- CSSF Luxembourg — Coinbase Luxembourg S.A., Bitstamp Europe S.A.
- MFSA Malta — OKX Europe Limited, Gate Technology Ltd, Foris DAX MT Limited
- CNMV Spain — Bitcoinforme S.L. (Bit2Me)
- AFM Netherlands — warning on MEXC Global; authorisation of Bitvavo B.V.
- UK sanctions list — Huobi Global S.A.; OFSI — application of the designation to HTX
- AMF France — termination of the DASP registration of Binance France SAS
- Official Proof of Reserves pages: OKX, Gate.io, Bybit, KuCoin, Bitget, MEXC, Kraken, Bitvavo, BingX
- SEC EDGAR — Coinbase annual and quarterly reporting on client crypto assets
- FBI — attribution of the 2025 Bybit hack
- US Department of Justice — KuCoin guilty plea, January 2025
- Official closure announcements: BitMart, BitMEX, EXMO, AscendEX, Kuna
- Official exchange help materials on hryvnia channels, fees and KYC
The full list of references with verification dates is kept in the rating's editorial database.
