Amidst the ongoing conflict with Russia, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill “On Virtual Assets” legalizing cryptocurrency assets in the country. Ukraine has received more than $100 million in crypto donations over the past three weeks to fund Ukraine’s struggle against the Russian invasion.
According to the statement released by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the law defines what is considered a crypto asset, its classification, ownership, regulators and registration requirements for crypto service providers.
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It clarifies that the National Bank of Ukraine and its National Commission on Securities and Stock Market will serve as crypto regulators. The Ukrainian securities regulator will also have authority under the new law to determine policies on digital assets, issue licenses to businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies and act as a financial watchdog.
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Further, The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine confirmed the news on Twitter and said that the exchanges will be permitted to operate legally and banks will issue accounts for them.
An earlier version of this bill was proposed in September 2021, but President Zelensky asked for changes. The Parliament introduced the revised version of the bill on February 17 which was approved on Wednesday. The signing makes the law official in the European country.
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Ukraine’s finance ministry is reportedly working on adjustments to the country’s tax and civil legislation to completely open the market for virtual assets.
It is important to note that cryptocurrencies were never illegal in Ukraine. Ukraine’s announcement does not mention making Bitcoin legal tender, so signing a law cannot be compared to what El Salvador has done. El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal tender in September 2021.
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Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov tweeted that the new crypto law will play a “vital role in Ukraine’s defence process.”
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Cryptocurrency donations have been received in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, Dogecoin and five others. Ukraine on Monday launched a crypto donation website in collaboration with cryptocurrency firms FTX and Everstake.
