Ukrainian MP leads charge for crypto inclusion in national reserves

A Yaroslav Zheleznyak-led group of MPs in Ukraine submitted a draft bill to parliament on Tuesday, proposing the inclusion of digital assets in the nation’s gold and foreign exchange reserves. Zheleznyak said the proposed law will not conflict with the nation’s international commitments. 

A group of MPs from the Holos party of Ukraine, led by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, submitted a legislative proposal No. 13356 to the parliament on Tuesday. The bill proposed the inclusion of digital assets such as Bitcoin and other crypto options into the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves.

Zheleznyak said that under the proposed bill, the National Bank of Ukraine can include digital assets in the nation’s reserves. The MP added that the central bank of Ukraine would have the authority to decide on the timing, approach, and volume of incorporating digital assets in the reserves. Zheleznyak argued that the proposal would not go against the country’s international commitments. 

Private sector supports the inclusion of digital assets in reserves

💥 BREAKING:

🇺🇦 UKRAINE PROPOSES BILL TO ALLOW CENTRAL BANK TO HOLD DIGITAL ASSETS IN NATIONAL RESERVES.

BULLISH FOR CRYPTO & #XRP pic.twitter.com/8OKunadXRk

— STEPH IS CRYPTO (@Steph_iscrypto) June 11, 2025

The government of Ukraine has been preparing an act to establish a national strategic Bitcoin reserve. Ukraine held approximately 46,351 BTC as of December 2024, valued at $4.8 billion, primarily acquired through asset seizures, donations, and fundraising during the war. 

The move to create a BTC reserve has received support from the private sector, with the regional Head of Binance for Central and Eastern Europe, Kirill Khomyakov, welcoming the proposal. Khomyakov revealed that establishing the BTC reserve would need significant legislation amendments. The head of Binance added that creating the reserve was a positive step, saying it would lead to clearer regulations regarding crypto assets. 

In April, Ukraine’s parliamentary Committee on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy passed a new legislation on crypto. The bill was, however, withdrawn following a request from the Office of the President and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC). The commission later revealed that it had no authority to halt the bill. The NSSMC, however, submitted a list of 80 suggested changes and comments to the parliament. 

Central banks say Bitcoin unfit for reserves

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde recently trashed the idea of creating European crypto reserves. Lagarde stated there was no place for cryptocurrency in Europe’s central banking. The ECB President said she was confident digital assets would not enter the reserves of Europe’s central banks. Lagarde maintained that the national reserves should remain liquid, safe, and secure. 

The Czech National Bank also recently announced that its board had agreed to broaden its national reserves portfolio to incorporate other asset classes without pointing out Bitcoin or other digital assets. Poland’s central bank also recently revealed that it would not invest in crypto assets. The bank claimed that cryptocurrency was an asset class bearing a very high risk. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, recently stated that the central bank was not authorized to own digital assets. 

Martin Schlegel, the president of the Swiss National Bank, said in March that digital assets did not meet the bank’s currency reserve standards, dismissing crypto advocates’ demands that the institution hold BTC as a hedge against increasing global economic uncertainties. Crypto campaigner Luzious Meisser, also Bitcoin Suisse’s board member, argued that holding BTC made more sense as the world moved towards a multipolar order, where the official currencies, the euro and dollar, were weakening. 

The crypto campaigners had launched an initiative to mount pressure on the SNB to acquire Bitcoin, claiming that the economic crisis triggered by Trump’s tariffs made it more crucial for the institution to diversify government reserves. Schlegel rejected the suggestions, arguing that the digital asset’s market liquidity was a big concern as the institution was required at all times to be able to acquire or sell foreign exchange.

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