SendFlowers, a Ukrainian online store that offers the most exotic of flowers with delivery across the country and beyond, has announced that it has begun to accept Bitcoins on a test basis. It is the first such case on the Ukrainian e-commerce scene, reports E-Commerce.com.ua.
The cryptocurrency can be used on the site to buy bouquets, souvenirs, gifts and cakes. The company expects the option of Bitcoin payment to increase sales abroad. The website is prepared to deliver flowers to Europe and the United States.
Bouquets of up to 1,000 blossoms are available on the site. For example, for just over 20,000 hryvnias (slightly more than $1500), a bouquet of 1001 roses, 2.5 meters in diameter, can be ordered.
Currently only a few companies in Ukraine accept Bitcoin as payment. One of the first to adopt that practice was the Juscutum law firm, which will provide any legal service in exchange for payment in the cryptocurrency.
“Serving essentially the IT industry, we ourselves praise innovations and are eager to implement them,” said Juscutum partner Dmytro Gadomsky in an exchange with Ukraine Digital News.
“Moreover, for Bitcoin miners, who are usually IT specialists, it is convenient to pay for our services using this cryptocurrency. Therefore, while it is not prohibited, we see no reasons not to use Bitcoins in our business,” Gadomsky added.
Bitcoins in a “gray zone”
While the government is reluctant to regulate this field, many Ukrainian businesses are currently considering introducing Bitcoins as a payment option.
“The only official reaction to Bitcoins is a recommendation of the National Bank to avoid using this cryptocurrency as this method of payment is not foreseen by the law,” Gadomsky notes. “The National Bank has also specified that it does not bear responsibility related to Bitcoin transactions. As such, however, the recommendation is not binding, so the use of Bitcoins in Ukraine is not prohibited.”
However, the main features of this cryptocurrency — in particular, anonymity and the absence of any government control over its circulation — leave Bitcoins in a “gray zone,” the expert concedes. “While it is now not illegal, there is no certainty whether it will remain the same tomorrow. Ukraine is not an exception among countries facing the same problem.”
Recently Kuna, an agency dedicated to the sale of bitcoins, opened a “bitcoin embassy” in Kyiv (Kiev) – the first one in Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
