Ukrainian lawmakers propose allowing central bank to hold crypto in reserves
Photo: NBU / Flickr

On June 10, a group of Members of Parliament led by Yaroslav Zheleznyak from the Holos party submitted draft law No. 13356, proposing the inclusion of virtual assets in Ukraine’s gold and foreign exchange reserves, according to the official website of the Ukrainian parliament.

"Under this draft law, we authorize the National Bank of Ukraine to include virtual assets in the country's reserves. However, decisions regarding the timing, method, and volume of such inclusion are left entirely to the discretion of the central bank," Zheleznyak explained.

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Zheleznyak emphasized that the legislation is written in deliberately broad terms.

"If [National Bank] doesn’t want to invest in crypto, it doesn’t have to," he said.

According to him, the proposal does not contradict Ukraine’s international commitments, including those to the International Monetary Fund, as several countries are already exploring the idea of forming crypto reserves — a trend that is gaining global momentum.

In Ukraine, virtual assets are currently regulated under the Civil Code as "digital items," which grants legal rights of ownership and disposal. As a result, the authors of the bill argue that a crypto reserve could operate even without a separate law on virtual assets — a law that has not yet come into force due to pending amendments to the Tax Code.

  • Earlier in 2025, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde voiced skepticism regarding the potential for cryptocurrencies to be included in the eurozone’s official reserves. She emphasized that central bank reserves must be liquid, reliable, and free from any association with money laundering or other illicit activities:
  • "Therefore, I am confident that bitcoin will not be included in the reserves of any of the central banks represented on the ECB’s Governing Council," Lagarde said.
  • Similarly, the head of the Swiss National Bank recently stated that cryptocurrencies are too volatile and lack sufficient liquidity to serve as a reliable store of value in foreign exchange reserves.