Ukrainian Bill Proposes Crypto Assets in State Reserves

On June 10, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine registered Bill No. 13356. The document proposes allowing the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to include virtual assets in the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves.

The initiative was put forward by a group of parliamentarians from various factions, including Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Oleksiy Zhmerenetsky, and Maksym Buzhansky. At the time of writing, the text of the bill was not available on the parliament’s website.

The content of the document was explained in a comment to RBC-Ukraine by one of its authors, Zheleznyak. According to him, the bill grants the NBU the right to add virtual assets to its reserves. The decision on which assets to purchase, when, and in what volume will be made by the regulator itself.

Zheleznyak referred to international experience, stating that the United States is already forming a strategic crypto reserve. The deputy also mentioned El Salvador, Switzerland, Brazil, and other countries exploring the possibility of adding digital assets to their reserves.

In April, the tax committee reviewed the bill “On Virtual Assets” and recommended it for a first reading in the Verkhovna Rada.

Later, the Office of President Volodymyr Zelensky blocked the consideration of the bill on cryptocurrency regulation in the country.