Ukraine Central Bank Details Crypto Regulation Plans – Will ‘MiCA Move’ Suit Kyiv?

The Ukrainian central bank has explained its vision of crypto regulations, with the nation looking to move closer to EU models.

Informator reported that the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) wants to regulate the “cryptoassets market” in line with “European standards.”

The NBU, the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market, the Ministry of Digital Finance, and a group of MPs began working on a regulation plan earlier this year.

Kyiv has stated that it hopes to adopt regulations in the spirit of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation.

And in its latest statement on the matter, the NBU spoke of the need to strike a “balance between protecting the interests of consumers” and “financial stability.”

The bank said that while regulation should “be close to European norms,” it should also “take into account the peculiarities of the nation’s legal and financial system.”

The bank also spoke of the importance of “transparency,” and said the rights of “all” crypto market “participants” should “be protected.”

The NBU said it intends to “work with other regulators” on its proposals.

Arsen Makarchuk, the NBU’s Director of Strategy and Development, spoke of the need to “create conditions for market development.”

He said:

“The main task is to build transparent and clear rules [for] the virtual assets market. [These rules must be] mutually beneficial for everyone: both for service providers and for their users.”

And Makarchuk said that two regulators would be placed in charge of crypto regulation: the NBU and the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market.

The director said:

“Regulation must be adjusted [to best suit Ukraine]. But this does not contradict the fact that that, conceptually, we should [use] the same standards as the EU.”

Kyiv appears to have abandoned its former approach to crypto regulation.

Crypto users (% of population)

1. 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates: 27.67%
2. 🇻🇳 Vietnam: 20.54%
3. 🇸🇬 Singapore: 13.93%
4. 🇮🇷 Iran 13.46%
5. 🇺🇸 United States: 13.22%
6. 🇵🇭 Philippines: 13.02%
7. 🇺🇦 Ukraine: 10.31%
8. 🇻🇪 Venezuela: 10.28%
9. 🇿🇦 South Africa: 10%
10. 🇹🇭 Thailand: 9.32%…

— Financial Index (@financial_index) June 7, 2023

Lawmakers in the nation were previously happy to take a relatively “light touch” approach to regulation.