Authorities in Ukraine plan to regulate crypto donations in politics

The government of Ukraine intends to regulate cryptocurrency donations in political funding to prevent Russian interference, officials in Kyiv indicated.

The war-torn nation, which is defending against Moscow’s ongoing military invasion, will take into account the experience of neighbors targeted by Russia.

Kyiv wants to stop foreign crypto flows into Ukrainian politics

Ukrainian authorities plan to take measures to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies to exert foreign influence on domestic political developments.

A number of mechanisms have been incorporated into the upcoming legal framework for the country’s growing crypto economy, which is yet to be adopted.

They were presented in detail during a discussion devoted to “regulation of the use of virtual assets in political financing.”

Vita Forsyuk, legal advisor at Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), outlined them at the public event.

The so-called “travel rule,” which helps to identify participants in cryptocurrency transactions, is one of the key elements in Kyiv’s strategy.

Its implementation ensures that use data “travels” with financial transactions between institutions to prevent money laundering and other illegal activities.

The Ukrainian government will also oblige service providers active in the sector to report such information directly to the tax office.

This kind of requirements are currently being introduced across the European Union under its DAC8 directive enforced in individual member-states.

Similar international standards, like the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will be applied as well.

Forsyuk also put an emphasis on restricting access to the Ukrainian crypto market for participants created with Russian capital or otherwise connected to Russia.

In a press release, quoted by the crypto news outlet Forklog, the Ukrainian securities regulator emphasized:

“These approaches are aimed at increasing the transparency of operations and reducing the risks of non-transparent or foreign influence on political processes.”

The debate was organized by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an intergovernmental organization that supports democracy worldwide.

The participants intend to put forward concrete recommendations on how to enhance the transparency of political fundraising in Ukraine ahead of future elections.

Ukraine has yet to properly regulate crypto transactions

In the past few years, Ukraine has been consistently ranking among the world’s top crypto adopters, and usage of decentralized digital money has increased since the start of the war in early 2022, amid fiat restrictions under martial law.

Initial efforts to regulate cryptocurrency transactions were interrupted and postponed by the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion. They were only recently renewed.

In September 2025, the parliament in Kyiv approved on first reading the law “On Virtual Asset Markets,” which is expected to determine the legal status of digital assets and their taxation.

A study by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) released around that time described Ukraine as a “heavy user of crypto,” having received $106 billion in cryptocurrency inflows while spending $882 million on Bitcoin purchases between July 2023 and July 2024.

Meanwhile, a former aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on social media the following month that Western allies of the country had launched a probe into funds sent to and withdrawn from Ukraine, including through cryptocurrency, amid concerns over political corruption.

At the same time, Russia was accused of using cryptocurrency to steer elections in Ukraine’s neighbors, Romania and Moldova, as well as in other countries in the region.

In December, Moldovan authorities blocked the transfer of $107 million worth of digital coins meant to fund pro-Russian parties in the former Soviet Republic.

There’s a middle ground between leaving money in the bank and rolling the dice in crypto. Start with this free video on decentralized finance.