Sat 19 March 2022:
In a landmark bill signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has legalized cryptocurrencies.
The “Virtual Assets” bill creates a legal framework for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, defining their legal status and classification in terms of ownership and regulation.
Since Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov openly requested for cash to “contribute to the Ukrainian victory as well as support civil people,” more than $100 million in cryptocurrencies has been sent to Ukraine.
The bill will allow crypto exchanges and companies to legally operate in Ukraine, with full access and support from the traditional financial sector.
“The Ministry of Finance is actively working to amend the tax and civil codes of Ukraine to fully launch the market for virtual assets,” the Ministry of Digital Transformation said in a statement.
“The signing of this law by the president is another important step towards bringing the crypto sector out of the shadows and launching a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine.”
Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister of digital transformation, said the new bill will offer “new economic opportunities” to the besieged people of Ukraine.
“We will do our best to bring the bright new future closer as soon as possible,” he tweeted.
Ukraine has legalized the crypto sector — @ZelenskyyUa signed a law. From now on foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrencies exchanges will operate legally and banks will open accounts for crypto companies. It is an important step towards the development of the VA market in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/lqqO1J9r1k
— Міністерство цифрової трансформації України (@mintsyfra) March 16, 2022
President Zelensky first vetoed a draft of the bill, which passed Ukraine’s parliament with a near-unanimous vote in September. He said at the time that the costs of establishing the regulatory agency would be too high.
The bill’s signing on Wednesday pulls Ukraine out of the legal ambiguity it was in with cryptocurrency before – it was neither legal nor illegal – but it doesn’t go as far as El Salvador, which became the first country in the world to embrace bitcoin as a legal money last year.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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