Michael Chobanian
Michael Chobanian is the Founder of KUNA Exchange, the first cryptocurrency exchange in Eastern Europe and the CIS countries. Under his leadership, KUNA is one of the founding bodies of Bitcoin Foundation Ukraine that has built a network of Bitcoin ATMs. He is also the President of the Blockchain Association of Ukraine, where he has overseen notable growth and innovation. Chobanian has been professionally studying blockchain ecosystems since 2011 and has more than 15 years of experience managing the telecommunications and internet services market. He also serves as an external adviser to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov.
Michael Chobanian Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Founder
Academic History
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Executive Master of Business Administration
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Executive Master of Business Administration
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Executive Master of Business Administration
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Bachelor of Science, Economics
Chobanian is the Founder of KUNA, a next-generation cryptocurrency and financial service platform for digital banking solutions.
In 2023, he expanded his portfolio with the launch of KUNA Pay, a platform tailored for business-oriented cryptocurrency transactions.
Under his leadership, KUNA and KUNA Pay have emerged as providers of sophisticated financial services to a broad spectrum of clients.
Chobanian is a significant figure in cryptocurrency and global finance.
He is the founder of the first public crypto-exchange in Eastern Europe and CIS countries.
He opened the first in CIS Bitcoin Embassy and in 2015 launched the first public cryptocurrency exchange market in Ukraine - KUNA.
He played a pivotal role in introducing the Blockchain HUB at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
He has also been involved in legislative developments, contributing to amendments in the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework to enhance cryptocurrency regulation.
CURRENT AFFILIATIONS
Co-Founder and Board Member, Bitcoin Foundation Ukraine
Founder, Xreserve
AID FOR UKRAINE
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, he has launched a Crypto Fund for Ukraine to help the Armed Forces which has raised over $100 million of donations.
He brought his expertise to the US Senate Committee, discussing cryptocurrencies’ impact in the conflict against Russia.
MEDIA & PUBLICATIONS
Chobanian has appeared in numerous financial publications discussing cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
He has appeared in CNBC, Yahoo! Finance, the New York Times, Bloomberg, CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, and more.