Ukraine, a country that is at war with its neighbour, Russia, saw its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sign a law on virtual assets, bringing legitimacy and legalization to cryptocurrency assets in the country.
This move comes after the Ukrainian government saw a frenzy of digital asset donations to support the country’s defense against a Russian invasion. So far, the nation has received $100 million in crypto donations during its war with Russia, according to CoinDesk.
According to a statement issued by the Ukrainian government, the new law appoints the agencies that will regulate the market and establishes rules around virtual assets ownership rights, among other things. Ukrainian and foreign-based cryptocurrency exchanges will be allowed to operate and banks will be able to open accounts for crypto companies.
What they are saying
- The statement reads, “Today, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has inked the Law of Ukraine “On Virtual Assets”, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on February 17. It creates conditions for the launch of a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine. The new market will be regulated by the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market.”
- The Ministry of Digital Transformation explained in a tweet that Exchanges will be able to operate legally, and banks will open accounts for them.
- The National Commission’s on Securities and Stock Market is tasked with “shaping and pursuing a policy in the field of virtual assets; determining the order of circulation of virtual assets; issuing permits to virtual asset service providers; and carrying out supervision and financial monitoring in this area.”
- Alex Bornyakov, the deputy minister of digital transformation, said on Twitter that, “We believe that crypto industry offers new economic opportunities. We will do our best to bring the bright new future closer as soon as possible.”
What you should know
The legalization of cryptocurrency in Ukraine was a matter of when and not if. Just this week, the Ukrainian government announced it had partnered with crypto exchanges FTX and staking platform Everstake to launch a donation website for users wishing to send crypto to help the country and its people. Ukraine officials announced this week details about its plans to sell NFTs, saying that it will be “like a museum of the Russian-Ukrainian war.”
We are seeing a country that has had to rely on cryptocurrency to buffer up its war chest. This proved that cryptocurrencies can be used for a force for good and it has brought about a narrative that not a lot of regulators like to talk about.
