Ukraine's Currency Shift: New Coins on the Horizon
The Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshnyy, announced plans to replace the 10 and 50 kopeck coins with new coins referred to as ‘steps’. He emphasized that the term ‘kopeck’ is a Moscow term that remains only in Moscow, Minsk, and the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
This information was reported by a correspondent from the Ukrainian Information Service, citing an interview with the NBU Governor for Ukrainian Radio.
According to Pyshnyy, the transition to ‘steps’ was intended to happen right after Ukraine gained independence: in 1992, a trial batch of such coins was issued, but there was not enough political will to implement them.
The National Bank is now awaiting approval from the Verkhovna Rada. After that, it plans to cease minting kopecks and begin issuing coins under the name ‘step’. Pyshnyy stated that this process would not require additional expenses from the state budget.
He stressed that the transition to ‘steps’ will not affect the purchasing power of the hryvnia. Currently, there are about 14 billion change coins of 10 and 50 kopecks in circulation, and the NBU is forced to mint at least 20 million of these coins annually.
In Pyshnyy’s opinion, this move will finally solidify Ukraine's monetary sovereignty and eliminate the use of the term ‘kopeck’ with its Moscow origin. Most former Soviet republics have already abandoned this term, and it is time for Ukraine to return the historical name of its change coin.
