The Ukrainian pension system of the future: The potential for using cryptocurrency instruments within pension provision

The relevance of the study is determined by the simultaneous deepening of demographic imbalances in the Ukrainian pension system and the active digitalisation of global financial markets, which makes the search for new investment instruments for the cumulative pension level urgent. The aim of the article was to justify the feasibility and conditions for integrating cryptocurrency instruments into Ukraine’s mandatory cumulative pension system, taking into account international experience and national institutional constraints. To achieve this aim, methods of analysis and synthesis, comparative analysis, scenario and structural modelling, as well as generalisation of international practice in regulating digital assets were used. The main advantages and risks of using cryptocurrencies in long-term pension strategies are substantiated. The advantages included increased diversification opportunities, potential for growth in returns, and access to innovative financial assets. At the same time, key risks associated with high cryptocurrency market volatility, regulatory uncertainty, cybersecurity threats, and insufficient financial literacy among the population have been identified. An institutional and legal model for the phased introduction of cryptocurrencies into Ukraine’s cumulative pension system has been proposed, which provides for the regulatory consolidation of the status of crypto assets, limiting their share in pension portfolios to 5-10%, the use of exclusively regulated instruments (exchange-traded funds, trusts), regular stress testing, training of non-state pension fund specialists, improving the financial literacy of the population, and implementing pilot projects with the participation of state institutions. The results of the study can be used in shaping state policy on the development of funded pension provision, as well as in improving the investment strategies of non-state pension funds in the context of the digital transformation of the economy