Fixygen.ua – Ukraine remains one of the world’s most crypto-active nations — both in terms of adoption and innovation. Despite the ongoing war and economic challenges, the country has emerged as a regional leader in digital assets, combining high grassroots adoption with an increasingly structured regulatory framework.
Ukraine’s place in the global crypto ecosystem
According to the 2024 Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index, Ukraine ranks 4th globally, behind India, Nigeria, and Vietnam — and ahead of most European and G7 countries. Over 6.5 million Ukrainians (around 15–17% of the adult population) are estimated to hold or use cryptocurrency.
Ukraine also consistently ranks among the top 10 countries by peer-to-peer crypto transaction volume, reflecting its highly digital-savvy population and widespread trust in blockchain-based tools.
Even before 2022, Ukraine was recognized by the Global Crypto Adoption Report as one of the fastest-growing crypto economies in Eastern Europe. Today, the war has only accelerated this transformation — digital currencies have become part of both humanitarian logistics and cross-border business operations.
Adoption and use cases
Remittances & payments: Cryptocurrencies serve as an alternative channel for remittances, reducing transfer costs and bypassing traditional banking restrictions.
Savings and investment: Amid inflation and banking risks, crypto assets are used as a store of value and a hedge against currency instability.
Charitable donations: Since 2022, Ukraine has received more than $250 million in crypto donations, becoming one of the first countries to officially accept digital assets for defense and humanitarian support.
Freelance economy: Ukrainian IT specialists and digital freelancers frequently use stablecoins (USDT, USDC) for cross-border settlements.
Regulatory framework and licensing
Ukraine is one of the first countries in Eastern Europe to create a comprehensive legal framework for the crypto industry.
The Law “On Virtual Assets” (adopted in 2022, updated in 2024) defines digital assets as property and introduces licensing for exchanges and custodial wallets.
In 2025, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) began preparing secondary regulations aligned with the EU’s MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), paving the way for harmonization with European standards.
The Ukrainian Parliament is also considering taxation amendments that would introduce a 5% income tax rate for crypto-related profits for individuals and 10% for businesses, with simplified reporting rules.
Regulators emphasize that Ukraine aims to become “crypto-compliant, not crypto-restrictive,” ensuring transparency while supporting innovation and investment inflows.
Institutional and infrastructure developments
Ukraine has rapidly built a local crypto infrastructure ecosystem:
Over 25 licensed exchanges and brokers operate domestically or under partnership agreements with EU-registered entities.
Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro are emerging as regional blockchain hubs, hosting startups focused on Web3, DeFi, tokenization, and AI-integrated financial products.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation continues to cooperate with Binance, Kuna, and WhiteBIT on blockchain policy and public-sector digitalization.
In parallel, the National Bank of Ukraine is developing its own digital hryvnia (e-hryvnia) pilot with support from Stellar Development Foundation, aiming to test CBDC payments by 2026.
Trends and challenges
Rising institutionalization: Ukrainian crypto companies are shifting from purely retail models to regulated brokerage and fintech structures.
DeFi and tokenized assets: Local developers increasingly launch Web3 tools for global markets — particularly in DeFi, GameFi, and real-world asset tokenization.
Security & AML compliance: Integration with FATF standards remains a challenge, though Ukrainian regulators actively cooperate with the EU to strengthen anti-money laundering mechanisms.
Brain drain vs. global expansion: Thousands of Ukrainian blockchain professionals have relocated to the EU, Poland, and the Baltics, yet they continue to operate Ukrainian-origin projects and bring foreign investment into the ecosystem.
As of late 2025, Ukraine stands among the top 5 global leaders in crypto adoption, with a vibrant domestic ecosystem and growing regulatory maturity.
The ongoing implementation of EU-aligned standards, along with a high degree of digitalization and public acceptance, could make Ukraine a European hub for blockchain innovation and virtual asset regulation within the next two years.
Market under geopolitical pressure
This week, the cryptocurrency market experienced serious turbulence due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Following reports of Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, the price of Bitcoin fell below $103,000, and the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market declined by more than $140 billion. Later, BTC partially regained its positions, settling in the $105,000–107,000 range.
Ethereum also lost about 5%, dropping to $2,510.
Alternative tokens (Solana, Cardano) fell by 2–3%, while XRP unexpectedly rose by 2–2.4%.
The fear and greed index remains in the “Greed” zone (~60), but amid instability, it could quickly shift to the “Fear” zone.
How is the war between Israel and Iran affecting the crypto market?
Short-term and long-term forecasts
June forecast:
3–6 month forecast:
Long term:
The bitcoin rate set a new record on Monday, rising above $109 thousand before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
During the election campaign, the politician publicly spoke in support of the cryptocurrency market, and traders expect him to ease regulations in this sector.
On Monday, the price of bitcoin rose to $109,241 thousand, Barron’s writes. According to CoinDesk, as of 10:00 a.m., the rate is $107.617 thousand.
Last weekend, Trump and his wife Melania launched their own cryptocurrencies on the Solana blockchain.
The politician himself introduced his TRUMP memecoin on the X social network and on his own platform, The Truth Social, on Saturday. At one point, the capitalization of this cryptocurrency rose to $15 billion, but fell below $8 billion after the launch of the MELANIA memecoin on Sunday, which diverted some of the funds of crypto investors.
The total number of TRUMP memecoins is limited to 1 billion, with 200 million tokens available initially, according to the official website. 80% of the memecoins are owned by CIC Digital, a subsidiary of the Trump
Organization, as well as Fight Fight Fight Fight LLC (corresponding to the Trump campaign slogan “Fight, fight, fight!”), in which CIC Digital is a co-owner.
CIC Digital used to sell Trump’s NFTs and campaign merchandise.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine is interested in participation in the regulation of the crypto assets market, a representative of the ministry Oleksandr Borniakov said at the Blockchain Society and the State of Ukraine open-door meeting in Kyiv.
“The ministry’s plans are to ensure that mining is launched legally after determining its status. That is, those involved in mining could do this without fear that they are in some kind of “gray zone,” he said.
Borniakov said that the Ministry of Digital Transformation also considers its task to ensure all conditions for international cryptocurrency exchanges to work in the country.
According to a message in the Facebook social network that, in accordance with the resolution published last week, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is responsible for the formation and implementation of the government policy in the field of the IT industry, therefore the issue of introducing blockchain technology, its application in public administration and the development of virtual assets is extremely urgent.
According to the ministry, the state plans for the next two to three years the following: legislatively define terminology; work out a compromise version of taxation in this area; by the summer of 2020, implement the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering; introduce blockchain technology into public registers; legalize mining and attract international cryptocurrency exchanges to the country.
In this regard, in the near future, the Ministry of Digital Transformation plans to sign a memorandum with the Blockchain4Ukraine inter-faction parliamentary group of the Verkhovna Rada, including more than 50 deputies, the Blockchain Association of Ukraine (BAU), the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) and other institutions.
“A concept that is understandable for all players should be developed in Ukraine – definitions, information exchange, who regulates and how, issuing licenses, limits, and other things. It will be great if the Ministry of Digital Transformation assumes this… A regulator of market behavior in this area should be defined, as without this, the rights of consumers and investors may be infringed,” acting Director of the Department of Strategy and Reform of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Mykhailo Vidiakin said, commenting on this issue in the Facebook social network.
He also called for the prompt adoption of the required legislation and the development of a strategy with specifying the place of crypto assets in the development of the financial market of Ukraine.
“Now we are developing a strategy for the development of the financial sector until 2025, in which regulators accept proposals from the market. Documents and a form for submitting e-proposals are available on the NBU’s website in the Comprehensive Program for the Development of the Financial Sector section,” Vidiakin said.
