WhiteBit and Volodymyr Nosov: a shadow clone of Nikolai Udianskyi

Ukraine is put under unprecedented pressure. The war challenges the very existence and sovereignty of this Eastern European country. While most governments of the World are united in support of Ukraine, providing military and financial aid, we should not forget that it must be tightly controlled. Ukraine is notoriously known for scam and corruption. The war hasn’t changed anything. It’s especially important to watch for crypto-related activities. Under the cover of war there is a great demand to hide the theft in digital assets. Several suspiciously similar crypto exchanges emerge in the public space. WhiteBit, CoinsBit, p2pb2b, QMall, xCryptCapital share identical API, engine, functionality and similar traits: artificially inflated volumes, arbitrary TOS violation criteria, slow withdrawals and… the same UBOs. It looks like Volodymyr Nosov, a self-proclaimed crypto guru behind WhiteBit exchange is a nominee of Nikolai Udianskyi.

WhiteBit and Volodymyr Nosov

Volodymyr (Vladimir) Nosov is tired of selling wooden floors. He is a crypto guru now. — Volodymyr (Vladimir) Nosov is tired of selling wooden floors. He is a crypto guru and WhiteBit owner now.

Kharkiv native, Volodymyr Nosov, the CEO of WhiteBit crypto exchange, is far from the realms of digital assets. In fact, he was a manager in the modest VivaParket Ltd, which is a flooring material supply retailer in the city. VivaPatket Kharkiv is a brand of retail floor coverings chain in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

The legal address of the company is not an easy find. In fact, the official WhiteBit website has everything but the address. It is vaguely proclaimed Ukrainian, but has an Estonian registration. Of course, the EU registration gives it a shine in the eyes of the potential customers. But the company behind it, Whitebit Financial Company OÜ, has one employee and 313.68 EUR in annual taxes paid. It’s somewhat suspicious for a ‘million user base’ and TOP- 50 crypto exchange worldwide.

Meanwhile, for some reasons, Kharkiv is a HQ for other Ukrainian exchanges. Well, it may be a coincidence: it is a big industrial city. However, it is not a coincidence after all. Those exchanges, namely, WhiteBit and Coinsbit, are ultimately under control of one UBO – Nikolai Udianskyi, our old acquaintance.

CoinsBit and Nikolai Udianskyi

Nikolai Udianskyi holds a trophy for being Nikolai Udianskyi for one minute straight.

CoinsBit is another digital assets exchange, launched by Udianskyi. It was founded in Kharkiv and operates under the Estonian umbrella company, which is also an empty shell without taxes paid in adequate amounts.

Nikolai Udianskyi says that he sold 50% stake in it, but there is little info about the deal. It rather looks like he tries to hide his role in the exchanges as an UBO.

Our guess is that Volodymyr Nosov (aka Vladimir Nosov) is used for the same reasons. He is just a nominal owner of WhiteBit, while infamous Udianskyi stands behind those exchanges.

What do people say about WhiteBit and CoinBit?

WhiteBit staff, incl. Volodymyr Nosov. For some reason Ushakov cant’ be found at /aboutus section.

Putting the PR aside, there are a lot of scam accusations. Every accusation needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but the overwhelmingly common are those in theft, low liquidity, arbitrary application of ‘rules’ and outright fraud. If I had to choose the exchange, I’d rather stay clear of WhiteBit, CoinsBit and their clones. Nikolai Udianskyi is a highly controversial figure and Volodymyr Nosov seems nothing more than an avatar of the past.

Here are some links for you to investigate further:

This article is not a financial advice. Please exercise caution and common sense while evaluating your investment choices. Please invest only money you are ready to lose.