Bill on virtual assets in Ukraine will be prepared by Oct with participation of partners – Rozhkova

A draft law on virtual assets in Ukraine with the distribution of powers of regulators will be prepared by October 2025 with the involvement of technical assistance from international partners, it will be based on the European MiCA directive, said Kateryna Rozhkova, First Deputy Governor of the NBU.

"In accordance with the memorandum with the IMF, updated legislative proposals will be prepared with the involvement of technical assistance from our partners by October 2025. The new law will determine the distribution of powers of regulators," she said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

Rozhkova noted that the European MіCA directive, on which the draft law will be based, provides that even tokens backed by clear underlying assets are acceptable only if this collateral is located in Europe.

"Regulation of this market in EU countries is usually carried out jointly: central banks focus on tokens backed by currencies or money, securities market regulators or ministries of finance - on all others," the banker emphasized.

She added that Ukraine, together with international partners, would clearly determine which of the regulators would be responsible for what, but assured that the Ministry of Digital Transformation will definitely not be the regulator due to the position of the International Monetary Fund, but the involvement of this ministry in working on the draft law is welcome.

"The IMF is against this idea (the Ministry of Digital Transformation as a regulator), and we need to take into account the practice of regulation in the EU. But we must admit that technologies are changing the pattern ... So if the Ministry of Digital Transformation is at the forefront of advanced technologies, their experience and vision should be used when developing the draft law," Rozhkova noted.

The banker said that after the adoption of the law on virtual assets, the NBU would develop its internal regulatory acts to regulate all issues in its part, because the market will need regulation.

"It is important to maintain macro-financial stability, so we cannot allow virtual assets to replace money. We must ensure the transparency of operators in view of the requirements of financial monitoring, protect the financial system from capital withdrawal, and protect the population," she said.

Rozhkova emphasized that due to the dispersion of crypto wallets, it will be difficult to regulate and restrict them, and there is a risk of legalization and tax evasion.