Holding and trading crypto will now be allowed in Ukraine, as the government has decided to make it legal after the new virtual assets bill was passed and approved.
With crypto usage increasing day by day, various developments are happening across the globe where buying and selling of cryptocurrencies have been gradually allowed by governments.
One such development has taken place in Ukraine, where the government has decided to allow residents to legally keep, exchange, and spend cryptocurrencies once the new virtual assets law is adopted.
This comes on the backdrop of El Salvador announcing the acceptance into law with Bitcoin as a legal tender in June 2021. After this, many small nations, which use the US dollar as legal tender, are mulling to follow suit.
Making an announcement on the crypto law, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Oleksandr Bornyakov, said in an interview that the legislation will comprehensively regulate the crypto space, possibly lower taxes for Ukrainians and create conditions for new services.
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The law will make virtual assets completely legal and, after the legislation is adopted, users can protect digital assets and also declare their crypto holdings.
New means of payment via crypto
Experts believe that a new market will come into existence which will allow crypto to be stored, exchanged, and used as payments.
The draft has also made it very clear that cryptocurrencies are not a means of payment in the country, but it will be legal to pay with crypto by converting it to Ukrainian hryvnia.
The virtual assets bill was voted in the Ukraine’s parliament in December 2020, and in June 2021, the parliamentary Committee on Digital Transformation recommended its final adoption.
Subsequently, government and business representatives unveiled a roadmap to achieve the integration of cryptocurrencies into the Ukraine’s economy within the next three years, a major milestone for the global blockchain community as well.
Permits will be issued to crypto exchanges
The minister also called on cryptocurrency exchanges who want to do business in the country to seek permits.
To operate, an exchange will have to acquire permits to provide services and that will be processed by regulators.
No exchange will be required to register as a legal entity, but crypto exchanges will have to meet certain authorized capital requirements.
The Ukrainian minister also said that as cryptocurrency assets have become global, no crypto exchange will enter our nation, if the country has too strict rules and regulations.
New regulatory body will be set up
Under the Ukrainian crypto law, National Service for Regulation of Virtual Assets, a new regulatory body will be set up.
It will be a fully independent state agency that will issue permits to crypto companies operating in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Finance, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will look after the implementation of stablecoins, whereas, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) will take care of crypto derivatives.
Bornyakov said that a draft bill pertaining to crypto taxation is likely to be submitted to the parliament next month, in which crypto transactions will not be subject to value added tax (VAT).
It’s a new dawn
The fact is that slowly after the El Salvador announcement, many governments are coming forward and acknowledging the importance of cryptocurrencies, as globally its reach has been expanding very fast.
