Ukraine has so far collected more than $100 million in crypto donations.
Thanks to a new bill signed into law by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, cryptocurrency will soon be a legal asset class in Ukraine. Both foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchanges have been granted permission to operate in Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. Cryptocurrency businesses will soon be permitted to open accounts with Ukrainian banks. Since Russia’s invasion, the globe has contributed an estimated $100 million in crypto donations to Ukraine, including the Ukrainian military, aid organizations, hacktivists, and ordinary civilians.
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“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,” wrote Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation in its announcement of the law’s signing.
Cryptocurrency has technically not been illegal in Ukraine (hence the millions in donations and the nation’s status as the leading country for crypto adoption). But digital assets in Ukraine have more or less operated in a legal gray area. Neither people nor companies in Ukraine could own or trade crypto in the market, for example. A spike in crypto crime and money laundering in Ukraine and Eastern Europe in recent years led to the nation’s government cracking down on the industry.
The new law sets forth a legal framework for Ukraine’s burgeoning crypto industry to exist, as well as taps the National Bank of Ukraine and its National Commission on Securities and Stock Market to serve as regulators. It also paves the way for more laws and a tax code on crypto, which, hopefully, will further legitimize the crypto industry in Ukraine.
