On February 17, 2022, the Ukrainian parliament approved the presidential amendment to the law on the use of virtual assets. This new law means the legalization of the use and trading of cryptocurrencies and soon, also of Exchanges.
The law was approved by 272 deputies and, with it, the National Securities Commission will have the capacity to regulate the digital assets market.
In this regard, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Albertovych Fedorov stated:
“The new law provides additional opportunities for business development in our country. Foreign and Ukrainian crypto-enterprises will be able to operate legally, and Ukrainians will have easy and protected access to the global market of virtual assets.”
As of the recent enactment of the new legislation, the National Securities Commission of Ukraine will have the power to determine the procedure of circulation of virtual assets, grant permits to virtual asset providers, exercise visibility and financial control in this area, among others.
Ukraine and cryptocurrencies
The use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets is nothing new in the country. Ukraine is currently among the 5 countries in the world with the largest number of crypto-assets holders. This made the aforementioned law necessary to establish a better control.
Ukraine has been in the spotlight of cryptocurrency markets lately. Since its potential conflict with its neighbor, Russia, is bringing more than one headache for investors.
With the news that are happening day by day about the imminent war conflict between these two countries, the markets have had significant losses. In fact, in the last 24 hours the plunge has been notorious.
All cryptocurrencies are in red numbers these hours. Bitcoin, the most important currency in the market, has fallen 10% overnight, due to the report of a bombing on the Ukrainian border. And with it, it has dragged all altcoins to a similar fall.
Beyond this, it is clear that Ukraine is looking to attract both investors and blockchain companies. The amount of money this market is moving, proves an undeniable attraction for many countries.
So, even though others like China are doing everything they can to ban them, countries like El Salvador and Ukraine understand the growth potential that new technologies can bring.
Oleksandr Boryakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for the Development of Information Technologies, said in this regard:
“Today, the potential of the global crypto-industry is measured in billions of investments. Its growth rate exceeds that of traditional sectors of the economy. In Ukraine, the market of virtual assets can become a powerful sector of the digital economy.”
