Ukraine’s President Signs Law Allowing Central Bank to Issue a CBDC

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into a law a bill called On Payment Services that allows the country’s central bank to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), an announcement on the president’s official website said.

• The bill regulates how payment services, especially digital ones, can be provided in Ukraine.
• In particular, the bill says the National Bank of Ukraine, the country's central bank, can issue its own digital currency and create a testing environment for fintech startups.
• On June 30, the bill was passed in Ukraine's national parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.
• The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has been looking into potentially launching a CBDC since 2018. It built an early prototype on the Stellar blockchain and published a report on the subject in 2019.