Ukraine joins the European Blockchain Partnership

The Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for IT Development of Ukraine, Alexander Bornyakov, recently announced that the country has become just the third non-EU nation to join the European Blockchain Partnership.

Following the membership of Norway and Liechtenstein, Ukraine hopes this move will be another positive step in the direction of integrating its own digital economy with the wider European Union.

Leading cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum may have faced challenges in recent months as prices have fallen, but the underlying blockchain technology remains an extremely interesting innovation for both companies and governments around the world.

“Ukraine’s integration into the European Blockchain Partnership will strengthen joint work on the introduction of blockchain technology in government registries and services, as well as promote a highly efficient regulatory environment, including for the virtual assets market,” said Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for IT Development Alexander Bornyakov in a statement.

This announcement has been expected for some time, with blockchain and bitcoin becoming an increasingly prominent part of the Ukrainian economic agenda. Last July, a number of Ukrainian politicians wrote a letter of intent to European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, to join the European Blockchain Partnership.

While the European Blockchain Partnership is empowered to provide cross-border public services, Ukraine wants to deepen its relationship with the EU further and embark on EU blockchain collaborations and pilot projects. At the moment, Ukraine is only an observer of the European Blockchain Partnership and is working to become a full member.

A number of blockchain partnerships that provide citizens with advanced cross-border public services, including identity verification and asylum registration, are also being worked on.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, Ukraine has embraced bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to fundraise for military defence, with the country raising tens of millions of dollars from donations alone.