New 2,000-hryvnia banknote: how many of these notes are already in circulation and why there are so few of them
Kyiv • UNN
The NBU has put around 400,000 2,000-hryvnia banknotes featuring Vasyl Stus into circulation. They account for only 0.01%.
In Ukraine, approximately 400,000 banknotes with a denomination of 2,000 hryvnias featuring Ukrainian poet and dissident Vasyl Stus were put into cash circulation on September 4, 2026. UNN reports this, citing the data of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Details
The new banknote is currently the rarest among all banknotes of the national currency. It accounts for just 0.01% of the total number of banknotes in circulation.
According to the NBU, as of October 1, 2026, the total amount of cash in circulation in Ukraine stood at 973 billion hryvnias. This is 46.7 billion hryvnias, or 5%, more than at the beginning of the year, when the corresponding figure was 926.3 billion hryvnias. In total, 2.6 billion banknotes worth 962.5 billion hryvnias are in cash circulation, along with 15.4 billion coins worth 10.4 billion hryvnias.
Banknotes with a denomination of 500 hryvnias remain the most widespread, accounting for 25.3% of the total number of banknotes. Banknotes with a denomination of 1,000 hryvnias rank second, with a share of 20.5%.
At the same time, the new 2,000-hryvnia banknotes account for the smallest share, just 0.01%. According to the regulator, since the new denomination was introduced, approximately 0.4 million such banknotes have entered circulation, with their total value estimated by the NBU at 0.7 billion hryvnias.
Why a 2,000-hryvnia banknote appeared in Ukraine
The National Bank introduced the new denomination on September 4, 2026. It is the highest-denomination banknote in the history of independent Ukraine. The national financial regulator explained the need for the new denomination by the growth of wages, consumer prices, and the overall amount of cash. The previous highest denomination, 1,000 hryvnias, was introduced back in 2019. At the same time, the NBU emphasized that introducing a 2,000-hryvnia banknote would not, in itself, increase the money supply or create additional inflationary pressure. The new banknotes enter circulation in exchange for noncash funds or banknotes of other denominations.
The introduction date was chosen symbolically. On September 4, 1965, Stus, together with Viacheslav Chornovil and Ivan Dziuba, spoke out against political repression of the Ukrainian intelligentsia during the premiere of the film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" in Kyiv. September 4, 1985, was also the date when the poet died in a Soviet labor camp.
What the 2,000-hryvnia banknote looks like
Vasyl Stus is depicted on the front of the banknote, while the reverse features the building of the Faculty of Philology at Donetsk National University, where the poet studied. The banknote is made predominantly in blue colors and contains more than 20 security features.
Why the amount of cash is increasing in Ukraine
According to the National Bank, the amount of cash in circulation decreased during the first quarter of 2026, but demand for it picked up again in the second and third quarters. Among the main reasons, the regulator cites seasonal factors, as well as intensified Russian attacks on critical infrastructure facilities, including energy, logistics, and telecommunications infrastructure.
Despite the increase in the amount of cash, its growth rate has slowed. While cash increased by 8.2% over the first nine months of 2025, the increase fell to 5% over the same period in 2026. According to NBU calculations, as of the beginning of October, there were an average of 64 banknotes and 199 coins per resident of Ukraine. Against this backdrop, the 2,000-hryvnia banknote remains relatively uncommon for now.