CROSS-BORDER CRYPTOCURRENCY PAYMENTS AND THEIR ROLE IN EU-UKRAINE FINANCIAL INTEGRATION (2024–2025)

Abstract

The growing role of cryptocurrency in cross-border financial flows between Ukraine and the EU has become one of the notable side effects of the war that began in 2022. This article examines how that role has evolved in 2024–2025, a period defined by two parallel regulatory developments: the full entry into force of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the continued, if uneven, implementation of Ukraine's Law on Virtual Assets (No. 2074-IX). The purpose of the study is to assess the volume and structure of EU-Ukraine crypto flows, identify key regulatory divergences between the two frameworks, and outline a realistic harmonisation pathway. Blockchain analytics data, NBU remittance statistics, and Eurostat figures are used alongside comparative regulatory and acquis gap-analysis methods. The results show that EU-originated crypto inflows to Ukraine in 2024 reached an estimated USD 13–16 billion, with USDT accounting for approximately 62% of identified cross-border transactions. Four regulatory gaps are found to create operational friction in practice: CASP licensing asymmetry, stablecoin classification, AML/CFT obligations, and the travel rule. The article concludes that addressing these gaps – particularly through travel rule implementation and a MiCA-aligned stablecoin regime – is a necessary condition for deeper EU-Ukraine financial integration and, ultimately, for a credible EU accession trajectory in the financial services domain.