- The country’s parliament approved an updated bill to legalize bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in final reading.
- Bitcoin is now legal in Ukraine, after the country’s parliament approved a bill in final reading that complies with the president’s recommendations.
- The country, however, has not made bitcoin legal tender.
“The new law provides an additional opportunity for our country’s business development.” Foreign and Ukrainian crypto companies will be able to operate legally, and Ukrainians will have convenient and secure access to the global market for virtual assets,” Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhaylo Fedorov, said in a statement.
According to an official statement, the Ukrainian parliament passed the new Law on Virtual Assets on Thursday with more than 270 votes. The bill specifies the requirements that Bitcoin service providers, such as exchanges, must follow and establishes fines for violations of the law’s provisions, as well as establishing that the cryptocurrency market be regulated by the country’s National Securities Commission.
According to the statement, Ukraine’s Securities Commission will be in charge of issuing permits to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency service providers, as well as market supervision and financial monitoring.
Ukraine introduced a similar cryptocurrency bill in September, but President Volodymyr Zelensky vetoed it the following month, claiming that the country couldn’t afford to establish a new regulatory body solely for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
President Zelensky then returned the bill to the Ukrainian parliament, along with his suggestion that the burgeoning sector be overseen by existing regulators. Parliament has now taken his recommendations into account and passed the amended bill.
THE LAW SUPPORTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INVITES CAPITAL
“The Law on Virtual Assets is largely a framework law that requires further significant refinements, such as changes to the tax code,” said Serhiy Tron, founder of White Rock Management and the Parea Foundation international fund. “However, the document became an important signal to the international community after the National Bank of Ukraine officially stated that digital currency is a ‘monetary surrogate with no real value.”
Tron stated that the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine intends to make the country a leader in the global Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market, which the new law facilitates.
“By establishing a high-tech, innovative cryptocurrency market with clear rules, the country anticipates the rapid arrival of crypto investors from around the world,” he added.
Ukraine’s Bitcoin bill allows the peer-to-peer currency to move out of the “grey” zone by establishing clear legislation that outlines how the asset should be treated legally as well as how institutions should behave in terms of investor protection and assurances.
According to Tron, bitcoin exchanges will now be able to operate under clear rules, and citizens’ assets will be better protected from fraud or misuse by service providers, including custodians.
“Adopting the Law on Virtual Assets clearly signals to the global community that cryptocurrency is legal in Ukraine,” Tron explained in an interview. “The opportunity to legally develop business in Ukraine will entice crypto-investors from around the world to visit our country.”
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
