Ukraine Central Bank Rejects Virtual Asset Bill Ahead of Final Rada Vote

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) refused to support draft law No. 10225-d on virtual assets in its current form on Nov. 4, demanding that lawmakers revise the text before bringing it to a second reading in parliament ¹. The announcement came the same day the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy voted 20 in favor to advance the legislation to the floor for final adoption ¹.

Under the committee's text, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) serves as the primary regulator for the crypto sector, while the NBU retains authority over electronic money tokens ¹. The provisions are slated to take effect on July 1, 2027 ¹. The NBU stated it received the final legislative text late on Nov. 3 and argued the drafting process lacked sufficient transparency, abandoning prior compromises negotiated between government bodies, market participants, and international partners ¹. Deputy Governor Oleksii Shaban presented the institution's objections during the committee session, which the central bank claimed did not provide adequate time for substantive review ¹.

Disputed Licensing and Foreign Token Oversight

The central bank outlined three primary operational risks in the revised draft ¹. First, the NBU warned that foreign tokens functioning as electronic money could enter the domestic market without supervision in their jurisdiction of origin, requesting statutory power to inspect and restrict such assets ¹. Second, the regulator cited the danger of regulatory arbitrage if foreign virtual assets bypass compliance rules imposed on domestic counterparts ¹.

Third, the NBU alleged the structure poses monopolization and corruption risks in market participant licensing ¹. The central bank had previously agreed to an NSSMC compromise capping the initial market at three licensed trading-platform operators selected through competitive bidding ¹. The committee's revised text instead removed any explicit five-year cap on operators, assigning sole discretionary licensing authority to the NSSMC ¹.

The dispute directly impacts who manages jurisdictional access to Ukraine's digital asset sector ¹. The Verkhovna Rada originally approved the bill in its first reading on Sept. 3, 2025, after earlier drafts designated the NBU as the primary market supervisor ¹. While the NBU reiterated its support for a regulatory model aligned with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, Committee First Deputy Chair Yaroslav Zheleznyak indicated the plenary vote remains scheduled for November ¹.