Ukraine legalizes cryptocurrencies, after receiving millions of dollars in cryptocurrency donations. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, has signed a bill legalizing cryptocurrencies in a country that receives millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies as humanitarian and military aid in its fight against Russia. According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the law establishes the legal status of crypto assets and the market regulators — the National Bank of Ukraine and the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market.
Ukraine legalizes cryptocurrencies
Last month, Ukraine’s parliament approved a measure signed by Zelenskyy that “creates conditions for the opening of a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine.”
Ukraine has legalized the crypto sector — @ZelenskyyUa signed a law. From now on foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrencies exchanges will operate legally and banks will open accounts for crypto companies. It is an important step towards the development of the VA market in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/lqqO1J9r1k
— Міністерство цифрової трансформації України (@mintsyfra) March 16, 2022
It authorizes Ukrainian banks to open accounts for crypto firms, designates the National Bank of Ukraine and the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market as financial watchdogs for the sector, and mandates that crypto exchanges and companies handle other virtual assets register with the government, according to CoinTelegraph. The state says it will protect citizens’ cryptocurrency holdings with the same legal force as its fiat currency, the hryvnia.
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, said the law would “bring the crypto sector out of the shadows.”
As Russia and Ukraine wage war, cryptocurrency is playing a critical role. It has been seen as a potential lifeline for Russians under financial sanctions as well as a prime source of donations to Ukraine. Following the invasion by neighboring Russia, ordinary Ukrainians have also been buying crypto assets in increasing numbers, with trading on the domestic exchange Kuna rising 200 percent.
It is still necessary and difficult to exchange virtual assets for fiat to make purchases, but legal recognition of the crypto sector should alleviate some of these issues.
Ukraine has received $55 million in cryptocurrency donations since Russia invaded the country last month, according to the ministry’s website. Ukraine has been able to supply 5,550 bulletproof vests, 4.10 lakh packed lunches, 500 helmets, 3,427 medicines, 60 walkie-talkies, 500 ballistic plates for bulletproof vests, 3,125 thermal imagers and optics to its army through money donated via crypto since March 1, according to data tweeted by Bornyakov on March 11, 2022.
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