Ukraine Central Bank Won't Back Crypto Bill as Drafted

The National Bank of Ukraine said it cannot support Draft Law No. 10225-d on virtual-asset circulation in its current form, citing foreign tokens that can act like electronic money, unequal rules versus domestic assets, and monopolization risks in platform licensing, in a Nov. 4 statement.

A Verkhovna Rada committee recommended the bill for second reading the same day. Lawmakers still have to vote. Bitcoin Magazine reported that a final floor vote is expected later in November, with rules taking effect July 1, 2027 if adopted (citing Interfax Ukraine).

Three risks the NBU listed

First, the bank said the draft lets foreign tokens into Ukraine even when they perform electronic-money functions without matching supervision where they are issued. It wants authority to assess those tokens and, when needed, restrict their circulation, as it can for domestically issued tokens.

Second, simplified admission of foreign virtual assets must not let them skip requirements that apply to comparable Ukrainian assets, the NBU said, warning of regulatory arbitrage.

Third, it said the final text leaves the number of trading-platform operators in the first five years to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission's discretion without a clear cap or enough antitrust safeguards. The bank had earlier agreed, as a compromise, to a competitive limit of three operators.

How the bill would split oversight

Virtual-asset laws set who may issue, trade and custody tokens, and which regulator watches them. Under the committee version described by Bitcoin Magazine, the split would look like this: the securities commission as main market regulator, the NBU over electronic-money tokens. The NBU said it supports MiCA-style rules and IMF recommendations in principle, but that the final draft it received late the evening before the committee vote did not reflect key drafting compromises.

Deputy Governor Oleksii Shaban raised the objections at the committee meeting, the NBU said. The bank called on lawmakers to refine the document with all participants.

The next date on the calendar is the floor vote later in November. If the committee text passes, Bitcoin Magazine reported (citing Interfax Ukraine), the rules take effect July 1, 2027.