Ukraine’s central bank withholds support for crypto market bill

Ukraine’s central bank has refused to support draft law No. 10225-d, while the country’s securities regulator has urged parliament to adopt the crypto market bill at a second reading.

Deputy Governor Oleksii Shaban voiced the bank’s objections at the committee meeting. The final version recommended for second reading had arrived only late in the previous evening, and the discussion format did not allow a full expert debate, according to the NBU. The bank also said the text did not reflect several fundamental agreements reached during the bill’s preparation.

The NBU said it “cannot support the document in its current form.” It asked lawmakers to revise the text before adoption.

The disagreement is not about whether crypto needs rules. It is about who sets the limits. The bank supports a regulated virtual-asset market. Its stated framework draws on the European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) model, international standards and IMF recommendations. But it says market development must not compromise Ukraine’s monetary sovereignty, financial stability or economic security.

What did the central bank object to?

Three objections sit at the center of the NBU’s position.

• Foreign tokens. The draft opens Ukraine to foreign assets with e-money functions that are often not regulated in their home markets. The NBU wants independent authority to assess the risks and restrict suspicious tokens, citing payments infrastructure, monetary sovereignty and financial stability.
• Regulatory gaps. Simplified entry for foreign assets could become a legal route around requirements applied to Ukrainian tokens. The bank says that would give some market participants an unfair advantage and push activity outside state oversight.
• Venue selection. Initially, the NBU opposed limiting the number of operators as long as they met the requirements. It later accepted a compromise in which the NSSMC would select three operators at an initial stage through a competition.

Removing the fixed number from the final text leaves venue-selection decisions for the next five years solely with the NSSMC. The bank says that concentration creates scope for corruption.

Why does the securities regulator support the bill?

The National Securities and Stock Market Commission, or NSSMC, backed the draft and the committee’s recommendation that the Verkhovna Rada adopt it at a second reading and as a whole.

The commission called the bill the result of long-running joint work involving the NBU, parliamentary committees, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and other state bodies. Its proposals use MiCA to set rules for market participants, requirements for service providers and investor-protection mechanisms.

It said Ukraine’s virtual-asset market already operates without dedicated legislation. In its view, the bill would bring that activity out of the gray zone and establish clear rules and state oversight.

The NSSMC also argued that contentious issues should not delay a legal framework. Passage would support a legal market, increase trust among participants and help integrate Ukraine into the European financial space. The commission urged the Verkhovna Rada to “adopt it as soon as possible.” Its recommendation leaves the NBU’s requested revisions unresolved before the second reading.

What does this change for crypto firms?

For companies, that institutional split becomes an operating question. The final text gives the NSSMC sole discretion over trading-venue selection for five years, while the NBU seeks tighter controls on foreign virtual assets and the power to restrict suspicious tokens.

If the bill advances, MiCA-aligned rules would bring service-provider obligations and investor-protection mechanisms into Ukrainian law. The NSSMC sees that clarity as a way to formalize a market already operating in a legal gray zone. The NBU sees uncontrolled foreign-token access and concentrated licensing power that could weaken competition and oversight.

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada passed the draft at first reading in September 2025. The committee has since recommended it for second reading. At that stage, amendments on foreign-token admission and five-year venue-selection authority will determine whether the bill can close the legal gap without creating the risks the NBU identified.