The NBU wants the power to assess such tokens and restrict their use when needed, as it can for tokens issued in Ukraine. It also warned that foreign cryptocurrencies could let them bypass requirements that apply to similar Ukrainian assets.
Another concern is market access. The NBU said it has also agreed to a compromise that would initially limit the market to three crypto trading platform operators selected through a competitive process.
The final draft leaves the number of operators allowed during the first five years to the discretion of Ukraine’s securities regulator, raising concerns about market concentration and corruption.
Under the bill, the NSSMC would be the main regulator of Ukraine’s crypto market. The initial draft taxed crypto gains at the standard 18% personal income tax plus a 5% military levy. However, the updated bill introduces a lower 5% transitional tax rate for existing crypto assets until the end of 2028, while explicitly exempting crypto-to-crypto trades from being taxed.
Ukraine has tried to legalize crypto before. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a virtual assets law in March 2022 after rejecting an earlier version, but it never took effect because it depended on changes to the tax code.
Lawmakers have also proposed letting the central bank hold crypto in its reserves, and authorities moved $8.3 million in seized crypto in June amid talk of a strategic reserve.
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