Ukraine legalizes Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

Ukraine is the fifth country in weeks to establish ground rules for the crypto market, showing governments around the world are aware that Bitcoin is staying here.

With an almost unanimous vote, the Ukrainian parliament passed legislation to legalize and regulate cryptocurrencies. The bill entered into force in 2020 and is now in the office of President Wolodimir Zelensky.

To date, Ukrainian crypto existed in the legitimate gray area.

Locals were allowed to buy and trade cryptocurrencies, but crypto companies and exchanges were often closely watched by law enforcement.

According to the Kiev Post, authorities tend to take a combative stance when it comes to virtual money, including “fraud”, crypto-related business raids and “confiscation of unfounded and expensive equipment”.

For example, in August, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) blocked a network called a “secret crypto exchange” operating in the capital Kiev. The SBU argued that these exchanges facilitate money laundering and ensure the anonymity of transactions.

The new law also details specific fraud protection for those who own Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and for the first time for Verkhovna Rada, lawmakers are challenging to define basic terms in the crypto world. Made. Virtual assets, digital wallets and private keys, if signed by the president, are terms defined by Ukrainian law.

Unlike this week’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as El Salvador’s legal tender, Ukrainian crypto does not encourage the development of Bitcoin as a payment method and puts it on par with the national hryvnia currency. There’s no.

But today’s vote by the old nuclear power plant is part of Kiev’s larger drive to devote itself to Bitcoin.

By 2022, the country plans to open the cryptocurrency market to businesses and investors, according to the Kyiv Post. Senior state officials are also offering their crypto credit to Silicon Valley investors and venture capital funds.

During an official visit to the United States last month, President Zelensky spoke of Ukraine’s burgeoning “legal and innovative virtual asset market” as a selling point for investment, and the Ukrainian minister of Digital Transformation Mikairo Fedrov said the country will open up the payments market. This is to allow national banks, which have said they are modernizing, to issue digital currencies.

But for Bitcoin supporters like Jeremy Rubin, there aren’t many new Ukrainian laws and political promises like these.

“Upgrading Ukraine’s legal status against Bitcoin is a laudable and symbolic way to move towards a world that universally respects individual rights,” said Rubin, CEO of Bitcoin R & D Lab Judica. Said. “But it’s just a symbol. Bitcoin does not seek permission or forgiveness in its mission to protect the persecuted community from an unwarranted government.