Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, has adopted new legislation that will govern crypto activities in the country. A sizable majority of 272 out 365 voting members supported amended law “On Virtual Assets” on second and final reading on Thursday.
The bill was Ukraine’s second attempt to legalize Bitcoin, draft law was initially approved in early September, 2021, but later returned to the Rada by Ukraine’s President Zelensky in October, with certain changes regarding crypto market regulators. These changes now been taken into account, Forklog reported.
Mykhailo Fedorovon, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine posted on Twitter and said:
Ukraine is already in top-5 countries on cryptocurrency usage. Today we made one more step forward: Parliament adopted law on virtual assets! This will legalize crypto exchangers and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 17, 2022
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will regulate the crypto sector. The NBU will be responsible for government control over the circulation of virtual assets secured with other currencies and the NSSMC will supervise the rest, including collateralized securities or crypto derivatives.
The NSSMC will issue permits, oversee the activities of service providers, establish and maintain a national register for the entities that operate with cryptocurrencies and will implement procedures for reviewing cases that involve violations of the virtual assets law and the imposing of financial sanctions.
The reports further note that Zelensky now has 10 days to sign the bill into law. However, the new legislation will enter into force only after the parliament introduces necessary changes to Ukraine’s Tax Code pertaining to the taxation of crypto income and profits.
According to a report, published by blockchain researcher Elliptic, Bitcoin donations have soared to Ukrainian volunteer and hacking groups, which back the Ukraine government, as fears of an attack by Russian troops grow.
New Elliptic research shows how war in the Ukraine is being crowdfunded with #crypto. Crypto funds are used to equip the Ukrainian army and fund cyberattacks against Russia. Crypto donations to these groups increased by over 900% in 2021. https://t.co/7clIA9hZYz pic.twitter.com/1PXcyqfDKG
— elliptic (@elliptic) February 8, 2022
The report said that donors are paying through Bitcoin to such NGOs, bypassing banks and financial institutions that might block funds.
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