Ukraine Passes Bill Into Law Legalizing Bitcoin And Crypto

By Kevin • March 17, 2022 9:26 pm • Comments

Ukrainian President Zelensky has signed a bill into law which will allow for a legal and regulatory framework to be established for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrenices.

The bill had passed parliament roughly a month ago and will now finally take effect now that it has been signed by the president.

As a result, all businesses that handle or manage digital assets such as exchanges must now be registered in order to be able to conduct legal business within the country.

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Since the emerging industry is now recognized legally, banks will also be able to hold accounts for crypto firms and provide financial services that will allow for the growth of crypto-related businesses.

The government has stated that this will allow the country to be as friendly as possible to embracing crypto which has proven its use, especially during the Russian-Ukraine conflict recently.

TechCrunch reports:

The law also reportedly empowers Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission with the ability to determine the country’s policies on digital assets, issue licenses to businesses dealing with crypto, and act as a financial watchdog.

(Indeed, Ukraine’s parliament previously passed a law legalizing cryptocurrency back in September, but President Zelenskyy vetoed the bill soon afterward, saying the country couldn’t afford to stand up a new regulatory body for managing crypto.)

If you thought crypto was already legal in Ukraine, you have plenty of company.

Even without formal regulation, Ukrainians, Russians and Venezuelans (in that order) had become among the active retail users of digital currencies by the fall of 2020, according to blockchain analysis outfit Chainalysis.

This new law being signed will also allow for the easier facilitation of crypto donations which has been instrumental when it comes to raising funds internationally.

It has been reported that over $50 million have been donated using crypto to the government which happens to be an indication of further mainstream adoption.

Investors are hoping that Ukraine is only one of the first countries to explore the use cases and benefits of legalizing the new industry.

To go into further detail, the law will help establish the requirements that businesses will have to satisfy in order to operate legally in the digital asset industry.

CoinDesk reports:

The law determines the legal status, classification, ownership and regulators of virtual assets, as well as setting registration requirements for crypto services providers, the Ministry of Digital Transformation said in a statement Wednesday.

The market will be regulated by Ukraine’s National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market. Exchanges will be able to operate legally, and banks will open accounts for them, the digital ministry said in a tweet.

The state body is tasked with “shaping and pursuing a policy in the field of virtual assets; determining the order of circulation of virtual assets; issuing permits to virtual asset service providers; and carrying out supervision and financial monitoring in this area,” according to a Feb. 17 government announcement.

There will be further changes to the tax system in the country in order to fully integrate the new industry into the country’s market.

Ultimately, the recent news shows continual progress in mainstream adoption given that the bill was first rejected back in September of last year.

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