In brief
- Ukraine has for the first time placed seized crypto under state management, transferring more than $8.3 million in $USDT to a wallet held by its asset-recovery agency, ARMA.
- The stablecoin haul was seized from an alleged member of an international hacking group accused of ransomware attacks on victims in Europe and the U.S., with estimated damages topping $100 million.
- Four suspects, including the alleged ringleader, are in custody, and authorities have seized more than $11.1 million in total assets, including property, cars, and $1 million in cash.
Ukraine has taken seized cryptocurrency into state custody for the first time, a milestone for a country that has quietly become one of the world’s largest government holders of crypto.
More than $8.3 million in the stablecoin $USDT has been moved to a crypto wallet controlled by ARMA, Ukraine’s asset-recovery agency, the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement published on Telegram. “This is the first case when seized crypto assets have actually been transferred to the management of the state,” the office said, per a translation of the post.
The $USDT came from wallets controlled by an alleged member of an international hacking group. According to the State Bureau of Investigation, the group launched cyberattacks on people and companies across Europe and the U.S., stole confidential data, demanded ransoms, and laundered the proceeds in Ukraine by buying real estate, cars, and other high-value property.
Estimated damages from the group’s activities top $100 million, prosecutors said. Four people, including the alleged organizer, have been detained and remain in custody, with more than $11.1 million in assets seized, including homes, vehicles, $1 million in cash, and the crypto.
ARMA, formally the National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets, oversees property seized in criminal cases. This is its first handoff involving digital assets, and it follows a 2025 overhaul of the long-criticized agency, a reform that unlocked hundreds of millions of euros in European Union support and was meant to make seized-asset management more transparent.
The milestone lands as Ukraine, one of the world’s most crypto-active countries, formalizes its approach to digital assets. It ranked fourth in Europe by crypto transaction volume, with $206.3 billion received between mid-2024 and mid-2025, according to Chainalysis, and public officials hold some $2.8 billion in Bitcoin. The country has also explored the possibility of setting up a strategic crypto reserve, per local media reports last year.
Ukraine legalized virtual assets in 2022 and is now advancing a bill to tax and regulate the market along EU lines, part of Kyiv’s bid for European Union membership. Parliament passed it in a first reading last year.
Ukraine could recover at least $10 billion in stolen funds and lost tax revenue by tightening its crypto rules, the UK’s Royal United Services Institute estimated last year, warning that weak oversight has turned the country into a hub for laundering, including of Russian money. Bringing seized crypto into state hands marks a step toward establishing the formal rails needed to close that gap.
“Modern crime has long since moved into the digital space,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said. “We continue to work.”
