Ukraine Embraces Bitcoin, Unveils Plan for Europe’s First Sovereign Reserve

• Ukraine is working on legislation that could set the foundation to make an advanced step towards the establishment of a national Bitcoin reserve. 
• This legislation would provide regulatory clarity about the operation of the asset class as well as tax guidelines. 

Ukraine is on the verge of becoming the first European country to establish a national Bitcoin reserve, according to the Deputy Chairman of Ukraine’s Committee on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy, Yaroslav Zhelezniak.

In the report shared by influencer CryptoGoos, the legislation bill is nearing parliament approval. Most importantly, it would provide clarity to the industry by defining digital assets, establishing clear tax guidelines, and regulating exchanges.

Looking into this, we found that the initiative is strategically backed by Binance. Recently, the head of operations for Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Africa, Kirill Khomyakov, highlighted that while this development could usher Ukraine into a new era of digital transformation, Bitcoin reserve in its entirety is a complex endeavour.

Shedding more light on this, Khomyakov pointed out that Ukraine would first have to work on the implementation of complex legal reforms. According to him, this is necessary since the existing laws frown on holding or managing digital assets as an official state reserve. Interestingly, this initiative was earlier confirmed by CNF after Ukraine disclosed its mission to legalise the industry by the summer of 2025.

Ukraine’s involvement in crypto is nothing new. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, more than $212 million worth of crypto was donated to pro-Ukraine war efforts as of March 2023, with $80 million directly sent to the government. In May 2022, the Ukrainian government tweeted:

The people of Ukraine are grateful for the support and donations from the global crypto community as we protect our freedom.

Meanwhile, the Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at the World Economic Forum, Brynly Llyr, has observed the ability of the asset class to mobilise, organise and deliver funds quickly. In his previous statement, Llyr cited Ukraine as a case study of how crypto effectively functioned.

Speaking on Binance’s commitment, Khomyakov highlighted that the exchange once collaborated with the Ukrainian government to support various education programs and regulatory frameworks. Above all, Binance is equally advising other nations like Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan on sovereign Bitcoin policies.

Rising Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Globally

The US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March for the establishment of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. As detailed in our previous publication, the initiative was said to utilise Bitcoin held by the Treasury that was forfeited through criminal or civil forfeiture proceedings.

Since the groundbreaking move by the US, countries like Switzerland and Brazil have been exploring this initiative. Fascinatingly, countries like El Salvador and the Central African Republic have already taken a more advanced position by embracing Bitcoin as a legal tender.

Amidst the backdrop of these, the price of Bitcoin has plunged below a crucial support level of $103k to trade at $101.9k at press time. In the last 24 hours, the asset has declined by 1.6%. However, it is still up by 2% and 18% in the last seven days and 30 days respectively.

According to our recent analysis, Bitcoin could stage a bullish reversal to a new all-time high once it successfully breaches the resistance levels at $104k, $106k, and $109k.