The parliament of Ukraine has passed a bill legalizing cryptocurrencies, said Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukrainian minister of digital transformation. He disclosed that crypto exchanges will now operate legally, and crypto assets will be protected by the new law.
Ukraine had previously attempted to legalize cryptocurrencies last September, however, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voted against the bill, stating that Ukraine couldn’t afford to build a completely new regulatory system for cryptocurrency.
In the prior draft of the Law on Virtual Assets, Zelenskyy suggested putting crypto regulation under the supervision of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market. The proposed oversight was included in the new version of the law and therefore passed parliament.
As written in the official statement, the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market will be liable for the following:
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shaping and pursuing a policy in the field of virtual assets;
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determining the order of circulation of virtual assets;
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issuing permits to virtual asset service providers;
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carrying out supervision and financial monitoring in this area.
In 2021, Ukraine ranked 4th globally by the number of crypto traders. The country also has an abundance of blockchain developers, and a growing number of cryptocurrency startups.
“Today, the potential of the global crypto industry is determined by billions of investments. Its growth rate is ahead of traditional sectors of the economy. In Ukraine, the virtual asset market can become a powerful sector of the digital economy. Thanks to the adopted Law, we have every chance to be a leading country for business development in this innovative field,”
highlighted Oleksandr Bornyakov, the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for IT Development.
On the Flipside
- The legalization of cryptocurrency in Ukraine does not recognize Bitcoin or other crypto assets as a legal tender.