Ukraine’s Crypto Legalization Bill Set Go Live: Report

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Parliament reportedly approved an amended bill on cryptocurrencies. The move is a continuation of the country’s effort to attract crypto investment and know-how.

The new bill incorporated the amendments proposed by President Zelensky, who sent it back to the Parliament in October.

The new law would allow Ukrainians to report income from digital assets, the Ministry of Digital Transformation said.

“Ukrainian Parliament, in accordance with the President’s proposals, adopted the Law “On Virtual Assets”. This means that Ukrainians will be able to declare their income in virtual assets, banks will open accounts for crypto companies and Ukrainian crypto exchanges will work legally.”

Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov welcomed the decision:

“Ukraine is already in the top-5 countries on cryptocurrency usage. Today we made one more step forward: Parliament adopted the law on virtual assets! This will legalize crypto exchangers and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud.”

According to local reports, the Ministry is currently working on amendments to civil and tax codes that would accommodate new regulations. Later on, Bloomberg also confirmed the news.

Presidential Veto

The crypto bill was in the works since at least November 2021. The country’s Parliament approved a similar bill in October in hopes of becoming a leader in the crypto space.

However, President Volodymyr Zelensky vetoed the bill, sending it back to Parliament for changes. Namely, that was due to a provision on a new independent regulatory body.

The new regulator would oversee virtual assets together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the central bank, and the National Securities Commission.

However, Zelensky opposed the requirement, saying there’s no money in the budget for the new agency. Therefore, he sent the bill back to Parliament.

As the Parliament accepted Zelensky’s proposed amendment, the bill will likely become law in Ukraine.

Tensions in Ukraine

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are at an all-time high. With Russian troops near the border, things could escalate into open conflict.

Moreover, Ukrainian officials are currently a target of a massive hacking campaign. U.S. authorities say that Russian government hackers are likely behind the attacks.

Still, the instability in Ukraine helped boost crypto. Reports suggest that Ukrainian paramilitary units are crowdfunding support using crypto.

Despite the tensions, Ukraine and Russia are among the most crypto-aware countries globally.