On 9 September 1991, a bill in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) titled "On Introduction of Reusable Coupons Into Circulation on the Territory of the Republic" passed, which was followed on 10 January 1992 by the National Bank of Ukraine issuing temporary banknotes named "karbovanets",[1] though they were also popularly known as "coupon-karbovanets".
To introduce the hryvnia would cause rapid devaluation and leave it effectively worthless, so the Ukrainian government took the controversial decision to peg the karbovanets to the United States dollar.
[3] In addition to hyperinflation, the karbovanets struggled from an almost total lack of security measures and poor paper, which enabled the creation of counterfeits by anyone owning a printer.
Seeking to counteract these problems, primary aim of the monetary reform was a policy of devaluation, as part of broader measures to establish economic stability with a new currency.
[11] The 1996 monetary reform also introduced Viktor Yushchenko to the national political scene, allowing him to ultimately become President of Ukraine following the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election and Orange Revolution.
[12] However, the process of denomination has been more recently attributed to Vadym Hetman, Yushchenko's predecessor, who has been popularly named as "Father of the Hryvnia" in recognition of his achievements.