The Ukrainian authority has reportedly made significant strides with its CBDC project, with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) obtaining regulatory approval for cryptocurrency issuance. 

Specifically, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reportedly signed a law – dubbed On Payment Services – into effect, granting the nation’s central bank the official regulatory right to carry out the issuance of a CBDC, the digital hryvnia. 

The new law will reportedly grant the NBU the greenlight to form regulatory sandboxes for running trial phases for payment services and instruments powered by emerging tech. 

The freshly enacted bill will reportedly make it mandatory for the Ukrainian central bank to work closely with local establishments doing business in the payment market, with consideration for the demand of the private sector. 

Previously authorized by the Ukrainian parliament in June this year, the On Payment Services reportedly has a goal of offering the implementation of open banking, the practice of sharing access and control to consumer financial data, via third-party applications. 

The law is reportedly expected to provide stimulation for growth, regarding local financial technologies, making it possible for private fintech entities to form cooperation with banks, and are exposed to additional business opportunities. 

The recently approved legislation was reportedly also created to modify the Ukrainian legislation to the legal framework of the EU, which in the long run would enable integration of the nation’s payment network with the one of the EU. 

The legislation was reportedly designed based on requirements of the modern time, and took into consideration the standards of European regulatory acts, including the Payments Service Directive 2 and the E-Money Directive.