Together with the Women’s Union of Chernihiv, on 9 June the Center for Financial Integrity held a meeting titled “Introduction to Virtual Assets and Combating Financial Crime”, focused on virtual assets and financial security.

In an open, live discussion format, participants explored what virtual assets are in line with the approaches of international organisations and Ukrainian legislation. Particular attention was paid to how blockchain works, its key features, and why this technology underpins modern digital finance.

The speed of transactions, cross-border nature, and partial anonymity make virtual assets potentially vulnerable to misuse — in particular money laundering, financing of illicit activity, and use in criminal schemes. Therefore, special emphasis was placed on tools for identifying risks and countering such practices.

At the same time, with appropriate regulation, virtual assets open significant opportunities for the economy and consumers: they expand access to financial markets, increase transparency of transactions, and help reduce the scale of the shadow economy.