Ukraine's Central Bank Rejects Crypto Bill 10225-d Over Sovereignty Risks

NBU Objects to Draft Law 10225-d

The National Bank of Ukraine has refused to back the country's flagship crypto legalization bill, saying in a November 4 statement that draft law No. 10225-d fails to address concerns raised during talks with lawmakers, regulators and industry representatives. The text is being prepared for a second reading in parliament, and the regulator objects on three fronts: foreign tokens that could function as electronic money, unequal admission rules for domestic and overseas assets, and the risk of monopolizing crypto trading platforms. “The development of this market should not create threats to monetary sovereignty, price and financial stability, and economic security of Ukraine,” the bank said.

The sharpest concern is that tokens issued abroad could enter Ukraine's market with little oversight. Some could operate as electronic money while remaining unsupervised in their countries of issuance, which the bank argues would undermine monetary sovereignty, interfere with monetary policy transmission and create risks for the payment infrastructure. It wants the authority to vet foreign tokens before admission and restrict their circulation where necessary, mirroring powers it already holds for domestically issued assets. It also objects that simplified procedures could let overseas issuers bypass requirements imposed on Ukrainian companies, and is asking for consistent admission rules to close the arbitrage. Its preferred approach would place foreign and domestic virtual assets under a single admission standard.

Although the central bank supports regulation under the EU's MiCA framework and IMF recommendations, it complains the final review lacked transparency: it received the committee-recommended text only late on November 3, leaving little time before the meeting. Deputy Governor Oleksii Shaban presented the objections during the session, but the bank says the format did not allow a detailed examination. The parliamentary finance committee nevertheless recommended approval at the second reading, and the NBU wants the disputed provisions revised before adoption with input from the institutions involved in drafting.

Licensing Cap Dropped in Final Draft

Licensing is the second battleground. The NBU initially favored an unlimited number of trading platform operators, provided each met the applicable requirements, and accepted a compromise with the securities regulator to cap the market at three legal entities chosen through competitive selection. The final draft removes that specific limit and leaves the number of operators permitted during the first five years entirely to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission's discretion, an arrangement the central bank argues lacks safeguards against anticompetitive practices and potential corruption. It is demanding clear, transparent authorization rules.

Under the bill, the NSSMC would act as the main regulator of Ukraine's crypto market, and the commission has backed the legislation, arguing that formal rules would bring existing activity such as spot trading under state supervision with clearer requirements for market participants. The tax regime shifted during drafting: the initial version applied the standard 18% personal income tax plus a 5% military levy, while the updated text introduces a preferential 5% rate on qualifying crypto profits through the end of 2028 and explicitly exempts crypto-to-crypto trades from taxation. The framework is intended to take effect on July 1, 2027. Neither side has detailed how holdings kept in a personal crypto wallet would be treated under the final rules.

The country has been here before. The Verkhovna Rada passed the bill's first reading in September 2025 with 246 votes in favor and 31 against. 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 tax code changes. 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.

This standoff is architectural, not a case of market FUD. The central bank is defending its monetary perimeter, while the finance committee wants a law on the books, and the second reading gives both sides leverage to delay. The likeliest compromise is the licensing window, since a fixed competitive cap of three operators was already agreed once, and pressure to restore it looks set to build before any vote. If the NSSMC ends up supervising platform services ranging from spot execution to leveraged products such as margin trading, the operator count decided in Kyiv will shape liquidity more than the 5% tax headline.