Zelenskyy signs new law to legalise crypto in Ukraine, as digital donations roll in
According to the new law, crypto exchanges and organisations that manage digital assets must register with the government, and banks will open accounts of crypto firms once the registration is completed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, signed a new law on March 16th, establishing a legal framework for Ukraine to operate a regulated crypto market. As per the law, Ukraine's National Securities and Stock Market Commission will draft a policy on digital assets, grant licences to crypto firms, and monitor and supervise the market.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, “The signing of this law by the President is another important step towards bringing the crypto sector out of the shadows and launching a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine.”
It further added "Ukraine's Ministry of Finance is also seeking to amend the country's tax and civil regulations to meet the legal framework for digital assets."
For a long time, cryptocurrencies in the country were neither legal nor illegal due to a lack of rules defining their usage. While it was legal to buy and trade cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, there were no legal protocols in place to safeguard traders who fell victim to potential scams.
On the initial days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy's government actively welcomed donations in a range of cryptocurrencies to buy weapons for Ukraine's beleaguered military forces. This was the first time crypto was utilised in a large-scale war, and people from all over the world had donated an estimated $100 million in crypto donations to the Ukrainian government.
As per a reports by Euro News, on March 4, Alex Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, announced that $15 million in donations were sent in Bitcoin and Ether and the majority of the donations were received and traded through the Ukrainian crypto exchange wallet ‘Kuna.’
Edited by Anju Narayanan