Reports emerged stating that the Ukrainian legislature has successfully passed a new legislation bill that legalizes and regulates crypto assets within the European nation to attract more investments.
In a September 8 special report published by Kyiv Post, reliable sources confirmed that the Ukrainian parliament passed the bill that legalizes cryptocurrencies adoption in the country.
The Ukrainian virtual asset bill number 3637 successfully passed for the second reading on Wednesday, with 276 legislators voting in favor of the bill. The new virtual asset bill is now awaiting final approval from the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Upon successful approval, the new bill will pave the way for a regulatory framework and mass adoption of cryptos in the country, which has been in a state of limbo, neither legal nor prohibited.
The Bill Marks New Dawn For Cryptos
According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation that proposed the virtual asset bill, the Ukrainian government intends to broaden the crypto market for businesses and investors by 2022.
But before then, the legislature must pass a set of laws and amend few Tax Codes and the Civil Codes to enhance a seamless establishment of regulated cryptocurrency trading activities in the country.
Kyiv Post’s report has documented a crypto expert who asserted:
“It defines virtual assets as intangible assets expressed in form of electronic data. It also explains what a wallet for virtual currency and a private key is — these terms have never been used in Ukraine’s legislation.”
As it is now, cryptos are not viable for payments of goods and services in Ukraine, but traders and investors can sell them on exchanges within the country.
However, the new legislation enables crypto and blockchain-related businesses to operate legitimately, with the government anticipating that the proposed plan will attract more investment in the country.
In the same context, the government plans to establish another regulatory body to issue permits and provide healthy scrutiny for crypto companies to protect them from fraud.
While commenting about the proposed virtual asset bill, Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation in Ukraine, asserted that crypto trading has become more popular amongst Ukrainians, with the country recording daily volume of around $37,000, adding:
“Only a few countries in the world have legalized crypto assets – Germany, Luxembourg, and Singapore. Ukraine will be one of them,”
Oleg Kurchenko, CEO of crypto exchange Binaryx, emphasized Fedorov sentiments, adding:
“It will reduce stereotypical attitudes towards cryptocurrencies and will help them to become normal financial instruments. Mistrust of the state could drive some investors away.”
Illegal Trading Eliminated
Remarkably, Ukrainian authorities have expressed their commitment to the fight against illegal cryptocurrency trading activities. In mid-August, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) raided illegal crypto exchanges that charged high fees and commissions.
SBU confirmed that some of the clients of those illicit platforms were renowned criminals, scammers, and organizers of mass protests.
