INSTITUTIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL MODEL OF STATE REGULATION OF THE E-HRYVNIA IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Introduction. Central bank digital currency is no longer only a payment innovation; it is becoming an instrument of state regulation in the financial sphere and a tool for implementing certain areas of public policy. For Ukraine, the e-hryvnia may support the modernization of payment infrastructure, transparency of public finance, targeting of social payments, control over the use of budgetary and donor funds, and financial resilience in the context of post-war recovery. At the same time, its implementation raises complex regulatory and governance challenges related to legal certainty, financial disintermediation, institutional coordination, privacy protection and public trust.

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to substantiate an institutional and functional model of state regulation of the e-hryvnia in Ukraine, combining regulatory, institutional-organizational, technological-functional, control and anti-corruption, social-service, as well as communication and legitimacy-building mechanisms of its implementation.

Materials and Methods. The study is based on systemic, institutional, structural-functional and comparative approaches. These methods made it possible to consider the e-hryvnia not only as an electronic form of Ukraine’s monetary unit and a type of central bank digital currency, but also as a complex object of state regulation that requires coordination of legal norms, institutional powers, technological instruments, control procedures and mechanisms of public trust.

Results. The article proposes an institutional and functional model of state regulation of the e-hryvnia. The model identifies key actors, their functions, interaction mechanisms and potential areas of application of the central bank digital currency. It is substantiated that effective implementation of the e-hryvnia cannot be limited to a narrow technocratic logic focused only on payment infrastructure. Instead, the state should develop a regulatory and institutional architecture that defines the legal status of the e-hryvnia, ensures a hybrid model of interaction between the National Bank of Ukraine and financial intermediaries, regulates payment programmability, provides algorithm auditing, protects personal data and supports the use of the e-hryvnia in G2P and B2G scenarios. The proposed model also includes a communication policy aimed at building public trust.

Discussion. Further research should focus on piloting the e-hryvnia in social payments, infrastructure recovery programs, local budgets, public procurement and mechanisms for controlling donor-funded programs. Special attention should be paid to legal safeguards that prevent the programmable e-hryvnia from becoming an instrument of excessive administrative control.