Ukraine President Enacts a Law To Legalize Crypto As Donations Pour-In

Key Insights:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a bill to legalize cryptos.
• Ukraine has received over $100 million in crypto donations to fund its war against Russia.
• The Finance Ministry is working on crypto tax regulations and other possible rules.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a virtual assets bill, legalizing cryptocurrencies in the embattled country.

Crypto Is Now Legal in Ukraine

The signed law determines the ‘legal status, classification and ownership of virtual assets’ according to a statement from the Ministry of Digital Transformation. It also outlines the registration requirements for crypto exchanges and service providers.

Confirming the news in a Tweet, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation said that exchanges and crypto companies can now operate legally, and banks will issue accounts for them.

Ukraine has legalized the crypto sector — @ZelenskyyUa signed a law. From now on foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrencies exchanges will operate legally and banks will open accounts for crypto companies. It is an important step towards the development of the VA market in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/lqqO1J9r1k

— Міністерство цифрової трансформації України (@mintsyfra) March 16, 2022

The National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine will regulate the new crypto market.

The regulator will look into aspects including the formation of state policy for cryptos, determining the order of turnover, issuing approval and permits to crypto service providers, and financially monitoring the crypto market. The statement added,

“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,”

However, it is essential to note that the law does not make crypto a legal tender but provides a regulatory structure for the digital asset class.

Additionally, the country’s Finance Ministry is also actively working to amend crypto tax regulations and other rules such as civil codes.

The bill was passed on February 17 by the Ukrainian Parliament, legalizing BTC and other cryptos such as ETH and XRP, after the President had rejected an earlier version of the bill in 2021.

Law Could Ease More Crypto Donations To Aid in the War

The law arrives at a time when Ukraine has received at least $100 million in crypto donations in the weeks since Russia invaded the country.

The new crypto law will enable the country’s top crypto exchange Kuna, which has been receiving millions of donations, to spend those funds with crypto-friendly suppliers directly.

The exchange has been responsible for aiding those donations to the armed forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian crypto exchange @KunaExchange is responsible for the technical side of the project, and the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Digital Transformation are responsible for the costshttps://t.co/cNUzj8ozIA#Ukraine #UkraineWar #StopWar #crypto #cryptoFund https://t.co/IxouzHetc1

— Blockchain Association of Ukraine (@blockchain_ukr) March 11, 2022

Ukraine has made it easy for crypto inflows by legalizing crypto assets and helping exchanges like Kuna and FTX set up a donation website.

The website dubbed Aid for Ukraine is currently accepting crypto donations in BTC, Ether, Tether, Polkadot, Solana, Dogecoin, Monero, Icon, and Neo to help the besieged country.