Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of parliament from the Holos faction and deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Finance Committee, is preparing a bill to create a crypto reserve.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of parliament from the Holos faction and deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Finance Committee, is preparing a bill to create a crypto reserve.
As the People’s Deputy told Forbes Ukraine, the Binance crypto exchange is helping to develop the document, Zheleznyak says. However, there are no details of the document at this time.
According to the publication, in order to obtain crypto reserves, the state must purchase them or confiscate them. The latter model was chosen in the USA. The state can also invest new budget revenues into crypto reserves or convert part of its gold and foreign exchange reserves.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 7 to create a crypto reserve. The reserve will be made up of bitcoins that have been seized in criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, David Sachs, the U.S. AI and cryptocurrency policy director, said on his Twitter page on the day the order was signed. «The U.S. government owns approximately 200,000 Bitcoins, although a full audit of these assets has never been conducted,» he noted.
Meanwhile, the head of the relevant financial committee of the Rada, Danylo Hetmantsev, stated on Telegram that the information about the creation of a crypto reserve is fake: «No, the Ukrainian Parliament does not plan to launch any reserves. Especially strategic ones. Especially bitcoin. This is not the parliament’s business at all. Don’t be fooled by paid fakes.»
As a reminder, after the removal of the draft law on virtual assets from the agenda, the crypto business’s hope for a quick legal regulation of the market disappeared. The cryptocurrency platform Trustee Plus has stopped registering new users from Ukraine.
In March, the founder of the Kuna cryptocurrency exchange, Mykhailo Chobanyan, sent a letter to the platform’s users announcing the closure of the project.
«Cryptocurrencies should have legal status,» says Vladimir Nosov, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT Group. It is difficult for businesses to plan long-term products, banks avoid working with crypto companies, and users have no protection in the event of conflicts, he lists the existing problems.
The founder of the Allbridge crypto project, Andriy Veliky, also does not support the creation of a crypto reserve . «It is impractical and impossible today,» he believes. Why? Veliky names two key reasons.
The first is that Ukraine is currently economically weakened by a full-scale war, so it is better for it to keep reserves in dollars, euros, and Swiss francs, Velyk believes. The second is the low level of cybersecurity in Ukraine.
Creating a crypto reserve is a completely realistic and strategically sound decision, Nosov from WhiteBIT disagrees. «For Ukraine, it’s not just about keeping Bitcoin on the balance sheet, but also about diversification, attracting investment, and developing the industry,» he adds.
Founder of the cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT Group Vladimir Nosov
While the cryptocurrency law is still being debated and the sector remains unregulated, a second notable player has left the market. Cryptocurrency platform Trustee Plus has stopped registering new users from Ukraine, the company’s press service reported on May 20.
The main reason is the regulatory uncertainty of the crypto market. «Every day of waiting for the adoption of the bill is another day behind global trends in the blockchain innovation sector,» said Trustee CEO Vadym Grusha. The company does not name a possible timeframe for returning to the Ukrainian market.
Another player that has exited the Ukrainian market is Kuna. Users of the crypto exchange were blocked from accessing the service in Ukraine in January 2025.
The reason for the blocking is the pre-trial investigation by the BEB into possible losses to the state budget of over UAH 40 million. There is no court decision in the case. The investigation is at the stage of completing the examination, the BEB press service reported.
Chobanyan says that even if the draft law on market regulation is adopted, he does not plan to renew the project in Ukraine. «Kuna has completed its mission, there are no plans for Ukraine,» he added.
