Bitcoin is now legal in Ukraine as its parliament approved a bill in final reading that responds to the president’s recommendations. However, the country has not made bitcoin legal tender.
“The new law is an additional opportunity for business development in our country. 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,” Mykhaylo Fedorov, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation, said in a statement.
Parliament passed Ukraine’s new law on virtual assets on Thursday with more than 270 votes, according to a official statement. The bill details the requirements that Bitcoin service providers such as exchanges must meet and determines the fines for violating the provisions of the law, in addition to determining that the country’s National Securities Commission regulates the crypto market. -change.
The Ukrainian Securities Commission will be responsible for issuing licenses to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency service providers and providing financial supervision and monitoring of the market, according to the statement.
Ukraine introduced a similar cryptocurrency bill in September, but President Volodymyr Zelensky vetoed the following month arguing that the country could not afford to create a new regulator specifically for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
President Zelensky then returned the bill to the Ukrainian parliament with his suggestion to let existing regulators oversee the burgeoning sector. Now, parliament has incorporated his recommendations and passed the amended bill.
Legislation promotes entrepreneurship and invites capital
“The Virtual Assets Act is largely a framework law and requires other substantial improvements, for example changes to the tax code,” said Serhiy Tron, founder of White Rock Management and the Foundation’s international fund. Parea. Bitcoin Magazine. “Nevertheless, the document has become an important signal for the global community since the National Bank of Ukraine officially declared that digital currency is a ‘monetary substitute, which has no real value’.”
Tron said Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation plans to make the country a leader in the global Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market, which the new law facilitates.
“By creating an innovative and high-tech cryptocurrency market that follows clear rules, the country expects the rapid influx of crypto investors from around the world,” he added.
Ukrainian bitcoin bill moves peer-to-peer currency out of a “grey” zone with the establishment of clear legislation that encompasses how the asset should be treated legally and how which institutions must behave in terms of investor protection and insurance.
Tron said that now bitcoin exchanges will be able to operate under clear rules and citizens’ assets will be better protected against fraud or misuse by service providers, including custodians.
“Passing the Virtual Assets Law is a clear signal to the global community that cryptocurrency is legalized in Ukraine,” Tron said. Bitcoin Magazine. “The opportunity to legally develop business in Ukraine will attract crypto-investors from all over the world to our country.”
Congratulations to Artem Afian — Attorney and Managing Partner of the Juscutum Attorneys Association for sending this English translation of the bill to Bitcoin Magazine!