Ukraine unveils its state-owned crypto

We are hearing more and more about CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), and Ukraine is thinking about its future precisely with crypto assets as the protagonists.

According to reports from the Eastern European country’s Central Bank, the E-Grivna will be the state currency adopted for community exchanges as soon as the fine-tuning is completed. 

The currency is being studied by the NBU (the National Bank of Ukraine) and is still in the embryonic stage but is set to become, once ready, the state currency that will be used and hopefully, usher in a long period of peace and prosperity. 

At an ad hoc conference, the currency, despite not being finalized has already been presented in outline to an audience of representatives of banks and other financial institutions as well as cryptocurrency market participants to capture feedback. 

The opinion of the expert audience will be valuable at this stage and will enable programmers and those conceptually studying the project to improve E-Grivna. 

Crypto and Blockchain: Ukraine thinks about its CBDC

The project, which came into being three months ago, is still undergoing an ongoing study and is in an exploratory phase aimed at probing the actual feasibility of the NBU project.

In the authoritative opinion of Oleksiy Shaban, Vice President of the trident bank it will give luster to the country and will be an important step toward digitization in addition to the fact that it will ensure more transparency: 

“The e-hryvnia will contribute to the digitization of the economy, further spread of cashless payments, reduce their cost, increase the level of their transparency and increase trust in the national currency in general.”

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is studying various and possible changes to the digital currency protocol now that the CBDC is still in the process of decryption. 

Among the various hypotheses under the eyes of those involved in the E-Grivna project is the possibility of using the instrument to make these retail payments without the use of cash, of course, specific online payments and all those payments related to taxes and contributions, but especially Smart contracts.

“The e-hryvnia can become one of the key elements of the qualitative development of the infrastructure for the virtual asset market in Ukraine.”

Shaban commented on the topic. 

The fate of the project

In the meantime, the regulator is considering whether or not to authorize the project but is waiting until the final design has been delivered to give a proper assessment. 

For now, the regulator is merely studying potential applications for the country’s future digital currency among which an important part is reserved for retail payments and cross-border settlements.

A little less than a year ago, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s single-chamber parliament passed a bill “On Virtual Assets” subsequently signed and converted into law by President Volodymyr Zelensky in March this year. 

The bill underwent quite a few changes from its original text, but in the end Zelensky passed the bill after amendments made by himself. 

The country’s securities supervisory body has recently been tasked with preparing In order to enforce the recently enacted law, the Ukrainian securities supervisory body is preparing amendments aimed at making everything more practical and faster.

At the same time, the CBDC’s implementation team is working to adapt the digital currency to the Union of 27’s crypto compliance standards. 

Cryptocurrencies are thus returning to the forefront in Ukraine, which since the advent of the Russian invasion has always played a key role in supporting the country through funding, donations, to support defense and assist in the purchase of hospital goods and food for the militias and the population.