Without ever having been really illegal, the use of cryptocurrencies has always been in a gray area of Ukrainian law. In the current context and after having collected nearly 100 million euros in cryptocurrencies, President Zelensky just signed a bill for formalize the legalization digital currencies.
Zelensky signs bill to legalize cryptocurrencies
Thanks to this new bill, cryptocurrencies will soon be legal in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Minister for Digital Transformation said that Ukrainian and foreign digital currencies will be recognized in the territory. Concretely, cryptocurrency companies will soon be able to open accounts in Ukrainian banks. The current context has prompted the president to act.
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Ukraine is already in top-5 countries on cryptocurrency usage. Today we made one more step forward: adopted Parliament 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 world has sent 100 million euros in cryptocurrencies to Ukraine since the invasion of Russia. Without this bill, this virtual financial windfall could not have been used to contribute to the defense of the country and to the protection of civilians. A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation clarifies that “The President’s signing of this law is an important step in bringing the cryptocurrency industry out of the shadows and launching a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine”.
What will this change in Ukraine?
For several years, cryptocurrencies operated in a legal gray area in Ukraine. This position should simplify the situation of Ukrainian minors. Concretely, the law authorizes Ukrainians to own cryptocurrencies and to exchange them.
It also regulates under what conditions the purchase and exchange of these assets can take place. Certain standards are notably imposed on sales platforms. Since digital currencies are already widely used in Ukraine, this law will probably not go not bring big changes overnight in the country.
However, it will give a legal and official framework to an existing market. The legalization of cryptocurrencies does not mean their acceptance as a means of payment. Several countries (the United States, Canada and France) have already legalized digital currencies, without making them an officially recognized currency. Today, only in El Salvador are cryptocurrencies legal tender.