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Amid Tensions With Russia, Ukraine Passes Bill To Legalise Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies
Writer: Tashafi Nazir
For most people, journalism sounds hectic and chaotic. For her, it's a passion she has been chasing for years. With an extensive media background, Tashafi believes in putting efforts on presenting a simple incident in the most interesting way.
Others/World, 18 Feb 2022 9:05 AM GMT
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Creatives : Tashafi Nazir
For most people, journalism sounds hectic and chaotic. For her, it's a passion she has been chasing for years. With an extensive media background, Tashafi believes in putting efforts on presenting a simple incident in the most interesting way.
The passage of the bill was the country's second attempt to legalise bitcoin. In October last year, the Ukrainian parliament made a similar move when the government floated a bill to create a new independent regulatory body to oversee crypto exchanges.
Amid global concerns over the possibility of a war, the Ukraine parliament on Thursday, February 17, voted to legalise cryptocurrencies and made them easy to use. The passage of the Law of Ukraine on Virtual Assets was approved with 272 votes.
"Ukraine is already in the top-5 countries on cryptocurrency usage. Today we made one more step forward: Parliament adopted a law on virtual assets! This will legalise crypto exchanges and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud," the Ukrainian deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted, following the passage.
Second Attempt To Legalise Bitcoin
The bill's passage was the country's second attempt to legalise bitcoin. In October last year, the Ukrainian parliament made a similar move when the government floated a bill to create a new independent regulatory body to oversee crypto exchanges.
President Volodymyr Zelensky sent the bill back to the members by proposing some changes and cited a lack of funds in the budget for not approving it at that time, News18 reported.
The recent bill passed in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) incorporated Zelensky's suggestions. He recommended that Ukraine's National Securities Commission, its National Bank and the Ministry of Digital Transformation will regulate cryptocurrencies.
Citing a report by Bitcoin Magazine, the passage of the bill does not make Bitcoin a legal tender, nasdaq.com stated. The report also mentioned that the National Securities Commission will now issue permits to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency service providers and will undertake supervision and financial monitoring of the market.
For some Ukrainian citizens, cryptocurrency has become a powerful tool in their fight against Russian fears of an invasion. According to a report by Elliptic, a crypto compliance solutions provider, Ukraine received over 5,00,000 dollars this year as it came closer to war with Russia.
Amid the crisis, the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance, Myrotvorets Centre and Come Back Alive are three groups that have lent support to the Ukrainian government and are among those who have helped the army and the government by crowdfunding sponsored by Bitcoins.
The report further highlighted that the Ukrainian groups have sent military equipment, drones and medical supplies purchased using Bitcoin to help bolster its strength in case of an all-out invasion.
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