Key Takeaways:
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed the country's crypto bill into a law
- The Parliament had passed an updated version of the bill last month
- Zelensky had innitially vetoed the bill last October after it received the Parliament's consent
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky gave his consent to legalize crypto in the war-torn country. According to official Government sources, Zelensky signed the cryptocurrency bill, which the Ukrainian parliament had passed last month.
As the country fights off a Russian invasion, crypto donations worth millions of dollars continue to flow from supporters. The new law will officially permit citizens to own and trade digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), among other altcoins.
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Meanwhile, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission will regulate the industry, including the licensing of crypto firms. Alex Bornyakov, the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, tweeted:
Crypto out of shadows
Ukraine’s parliament had initially proposed to legalize cryptocurrencies by issuing the “On Virtual Assets” bill in September 2021. However, President Zelensky vetoed the bill the following month owing to financial reasons.
The bill had envisioned the creation of a new independent regulatory body to oversee crypto exchanges, which Zelensky found to be out of the country’s budget. He hence returned the bill to the parliament with his recommendations.
After incorporating president Zelensky’s proposals, the bill legalizing Bitcoin (BTC) received its final approval from the deputies in February 2022.
“The new law is an additional opportunity for business development in our country. Foreign and Ukrainian crypto companies will be able to operate legally, while Ukrainians will have convenient and secure access to the global market for virtual assets,”
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said in a press release.
Legal expert and Blockchain Lawyer founder Varun Sethi called the development “another important step towards bringing the Crypto sector out of the shadows.”
Against the backdrop of the legalization, Ukraine has raised over $54 million in crypto donations, according to the official fundraiser set up by Kuna, the country’s largest crypto exchange in association with the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
