KYIV, Ukraine — A buccaneering 37-year-old educated in a British private school, Michael Chobanian is fluent both in English and the folkways of Ukraine, which he regards as a largely lawless frontier and which he likes to traverse in his black Ferrari 612. He is the founder of Kuna, one of Eastern Europe’s first cryptocurrency exchanges.
He explains in his office overlooking the Dnieper River, is the sort of freedom not seen in developed nations for hundreds of years.
“In this country, you can kill a person and you will not go to jail, if you have enough money and you’re connected,”
Ukraine today is the second poorest nation in Europe. Ukraine has already lured some Americans and Brits in the crypto industry.. the government has not a clue about what they are doing or how much they earn.
“There are no rules,” says Mr. Chobanian, with an odd kind of civic pride. “Well, there are rules, but you can break them. It’s the perfect balance between absolute anarchy and possibilities.”
Nobody seems very bothered that the mayor of Kyiv, the former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, lives above a strip club known as a place to meet prostitutes. (Whether the mayor owns Rio, as the club is called, is unclear. Though it does seem to operate under its own rules; a group of entrepreneurs singled out Mr. Klitschko in an April protest in front of City Hall, complaining that Rio was open during the pandemic while other businesses were forced to close.)
That said, those defects allow him to run his company with no oversight. What makes this country ideal for Kuna — a weak government, a dearth of guardrails — is a national tragedy for the wider population.
For now, the government knows nothing about the size, revenue or structure of his company, including staffing figures. When a woman brings him tea during our interview, he describes her as an “entrepreneur,” which, he explains, is why he doesn’t pay her a salary.
“Right now, there is no government in my business,” he said. “None.”
“The country has endemic corruption and criminal syndicates swarming all over it,” he said. “Ukraine will appeal to shady characters because shady characters like to penetrate countries like Ukraine.”
The 11 Mirrors Rooftop Restaurant has a $180 rib eye on the menu, signed photos of celebrities on a wall and a panoramic view of downtown Kyiv. It feels like a steakhouse that has been airlifted from a Las Vegas casino, and it’s owned by the mayor’s brother, fellow heavyweight phenomenon Wladimir Klitschko. The location is ideal for carousers. Rio, the strip club, is a few paces down the street.
Like many foreign crypto entrepreneurs who live here, the two men describe the country as a kind of utopia of the senses. Everything from food to chauffeurs is one-fourth the price of Manhattan. Ketamine and MDMA are plentiful at the raves. Plus, the dating scene — by their account, anyway — sounds modeled on a season of “The Bachelor.”
“They’re actually competing to try to impress you,” Mr. Sawhney said of his experience with Ukrainian women. “It’s happened dozens of times here, where instead of me hitting on a woman, the woman is hitting on me — a woman I think is out of my league.”
“I like that it’s corrupt here,” says Mr. Sawhney. “Here, we get to play the game that only elites in the U.S. play. I don’t need a lobbyist. I need to pay someone at the border, I can. I need to pay politicians, I can.”
Cryptocoins need to fuck off 😀
“It has to be somewhere.”
Why? It’s a digital currency, with no tangible assets
The article isn’t the flex the interviewee thinks it is, he comes off as a massive bellend. Another rich foreigner taking advantage of Ukraine, what a lovely heart warming story.
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KYIV, Ukraine — A buccaneering 37-year-old educated in a British private school, Michael Chobanian is fluent both in English and the folkways of Ukraine, which he regards as a largely lawless frontier and which he likes to traverse in his black Ferrari 612. He is the founder of Kuna, one of Eastern Europe’s first cryptocurrency exchanges.
He explains in his office overlooking the Dnieper River, is the sort of freedom not seen in developed nations for hundreds of years.
“In this country, you can kill a person and you will not go to jail, if you have enough money and you’re connected,”
Ukraine today is the second poorest nation in Europe. Ukraine has already lured some Americans and Brits in the crypto industry.. the government has not a clue about what they are doing or how much they earn.
“There are no rules,” says Mr. Chobanian, with an odd kind of civic pride. “Well, there are rules, but you can break them. It’s the perfect balance between absolute anarchy and possibilities.”
Nobody seems very bothered that the mayor of Kyiv, the former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, lives above a strip club known as a place to meet prostitutes. (Whether the mayor owns Rio, as the club is called, is unclear. Though it does seem to operate under its own rules; a group of entrepreneurs singled out Mr. Klitschko in an April protest in front of City Hall, complaining that Rio was open during the pandemic while other businesses were forced to close.)
That said, those defects allow him to run his company with no oversight. What makes this country ideal for Kuna — a weak government, a dearth of guardrails — is a national tragedy for the wider population.
For now, the government knows nothing about the size, revenue or structure of his company, including staffing figures. When a woman brings him tea during our interview, he describes her as an “entrepreneur,” which, he explains, is why he doesn’t pay her a salary.
“Right now, there is no government in my business,” he said. “None.”
“The country has endemic corruption and criminal syndicates swarming all over it,” he said. “Ukraine will appeal to shady characters because shady characters like to penetrate countries like Ukraine.”
The 11 Mirrors Rooftop Restaurant has a $180 rib eye on the menu, signed photos of celebrities on a wall and a panoramic view of downtown Kyiv. It feels like a steakhouse that has been airlifted from a Las Vegas casino, and it’s owned by the mayor’s brother, fellow heavyweight phenomenon Wladimir Klitschko. The location is ideal for carousers. Rio, the strip club, is a few paces down the street.
Like many foreign crypto entrepreneurs who live here, the two men describe the country as a kind of utopia of the senses. Everything from food to chauffeurs is one-fourth the price of Manhattan. Ketamine and MDMA are plentiful at the raves. Plus, the dating scene — by their account, anyway — sounds modeled on a season of “The Bachelor.”
“They’re actually competing to try to impress you,” Mr. Sawhney said of his experience with Ukrainian women. “It’s happened dozens of times here, where instead of me hitting on a woman, the woman is hitting on me — a woman I think is out of my league.”
“I like that it’s corrupt here,” says Mr. Sawhney. “Here, we get to play the game that only elites in the U.S. play. I don’t need a lobbyist. I need to pay someone at the border, I can. I need to pay politicians, I can.”
Cryptocoins need to fuck off 😀
“It has to be somewhere.”
Why? It’s a digital currency, with no tangible assets
The article isn’t the flex the interviewee thinks it is, he comes off as a massive bellend. Another rich foreigner taking advantage of Ukraine, what a lovely heart warming story.
Does it have to be somewhere though?