New rules are being prepared for crypto businesses: licensing, stablecoins and currency controls

Ukraine’s cryptocurrency market is gradually approaching a point where operating without clear rules will become much more difficult.

On 17 August, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine (NSSMC) announced preparations for the future regulation of the virtual-assets market and identified four issues that must be resolved before the framework can be fully launched.

This directly affects crypto exchanges, exchange services, fintech companies and other businesses working with virtual assets.

First — licensing.

The regulator is discussing which types of activities will require a licence and how demanding the licensing requirements should be. This is a fundamental issue: excessively strict requirements could drive part of the business to other jurisdictions.

Second — stablecoins.

Their legal status and rules for circulation need to be defined. This is particularly important for businesses that use stablecoins for settlements, liquidity management or cross-border transactions.

Third — currency controls.

One of the key issues is how to reconcile transactions involving virtual assets with the current currency restrictions and requirements of Ukraine’s financial system.

Fourth — international crypto platforms.

Ukraine needs to determine under which rules global market participants will be able to serve Ukrainian users, and whether a separate local presence or authorisation in Ukraine will be required.

The NSSMC expressly notes that the virtual-assets market already exists in Ukraine—it is simply operating outside a fully developed regulatory framework for now. Therefore, the question is no longer whether regulation will be introduced, but what form it will take.

For crypto businesses, this means that now is the time to review their corporate structure, company jurisdictions, AML/KYC procedures, customer-service models, flow of funds and the tax implications of transactions involving virtual assets.

Once regulation comes into force, restructuring a business model may be significantly more expensive than preparing it in advance.

Original source: NSSMC, 17 August 2026

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Author: Nazar Al-Mziravi, Attorney at Law, WINNER Law Firm.