Ukraine's National Bank has no plans to include crypto assets in intl reserves
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) does not support the idea of including virtual assets (VA) in international reserves and considers such a step premature, First Deputy Governor of the NBU Serhiy Nikolaychuk said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
"The overwhelming majority of cryptocurrencies remain high-risk assets, while the core principle of managing international reserves is security. Sharp swings in the value of VA would negatively affect the overall size of reserves," he stressed.
According to Nikolaychuk, there is currently no clear or uniform global understanding of the essence and classification of VA, nor is there unified regulatory legislation governing transactions with them. He noted that while some countries do include such assets in their reserves, this remains more of an exception than the rule.
The NBU official emphasized that including crypto assets in Ukraine's reserves could undermine the country's EU integration process.
"The European Central Bank has a very clear position: it considers it unacceptable to include crypto assets in the reserves of EU member states' central banks. Reserves must be liquid, safe, and protected," Nikolaychuk said.
He also reminded that such changes would not comply with the requirements of the Technical Memorandum under Ukraine's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the IMF.
On June 10, 2025, members of parliament registered bill No. 13356, which would allow the NBU to include VA in gold and foreign exchange reserves. However, Nikolaychuk noted that the central bank had not been consulted regarding this legislation.
