Blog Article
Author
Stellar Development Foundation
Publishing date
Ukraine
Financial institutions
Last month, SDF convened a two-day event to connect leaders from Ukrainian financial institutions and the banking market with experts from the blockchain and virtual asset industry. We initiated the event as part of our ongoing partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, which began in January 2021 in support of developing a virtual asset strategy. It was co-hosted with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Association of Ukrainian Banks, and included the participation of the National Bank of Ukraine.
The Bill of Ukraine on virtual assets is approaching a vote in the coming months. As financial institutions in the country prepare for the implications of new legislation, conversations that bring the public and private sector together are vital in order to build a thriving industry.
With this in mind, we designed this event to provide practical information for key stakeholders and decision makers in Ukraine who will be involved in issuing, regulating, and developing infrastructure for virtual assets. Representatives from the National Bank, Ukrainian parliament, and across the banking market were in attendance.
The forthcoming legislation could provide clarity that guides the development of the country’s virtual asset industry. When the door to innovation opens up, financial institutions may see new opportunities to utilize virtual assets to enhance offerings, introduce efficiencies, and build a more inclusive financial system. Key players in Ukraine will make consequential decisions that shape the country’s virtual asset ecosystem in the months ahead. What business opportunities will they be able to pursue? How will they build the infrastructure to support new assets or services?
This convening was designed to help stakeholders work through these types of questions and equip them with actionable information. Industry leaders building on Stellar shared real world use cases and practical learnings on subjects like compliance, anti-money laundering, tokenization, and more:
Ultimately our goal is to help Ukrainian leaders leverage blockchain technology to deliver meaningful infrastructure and solutions. Deployed correctly, blockchain can benefit the local economy and end users without sacrificing oversight, accountability, or regulation.
This is why it is critical for the private sector to engage with the public sector, to ensure that legislation balances the need for new and improved financial rails with the need to guard against innovations that empower illicit actors. When public and private sector leaders share the desire to get this right, it’s possible to deliver on innovation that will be transformative.
We’ve made presentations from our expert speakers accessible here. Consider it a 101 playlist on key issues for financial institutions to consider when developing infrastructure for virtual assets.
We look forward to sharing more updates about our continued work with institutions in Ukraine, fostering collaboration that gets us closer to our vision of an interoperable global financial system.