Ukraine Legalizes Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency: What You Should Know About Virtual Assets Bill

A bill signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky legalizes cryptocurrency in the country.

What Happened: The Virtual Assets Bill was signed into law by Zelensky Wednesday, as reported by CoinDesk.

The law will determine the legal status, classification, ownership and regulators of virtual assets and also set registration requirements for cryptocurrency service providers in the country.

Ukraine’s National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market will be tasked with regulating the cryptocurrency market.

Ukraine’s Digital Ministry said crypto exchanges will operate legally and banks in the country will open accounts for them.

The country will be tasked with “determining the order of circulation of virtual assets” and issuing permits to providers.

A previous version of the bill was rejected by Zelensky in September 2021. The new bill was passed through Ukrainian parliament on Feb. 17, 2022.

Related Link: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Volodymyr Zelensky, President Of Ukraine

Why It’s Important: Ukraine has received over $100 million in cryptocurrency donations to help with relief efforts during its war against Russia. Cryptocurrency funds have also been used to help support the military.

The legalization of cryptocurrency in Ukraine comes as more countries are speaking out either in favor of crypto or in favor of more regulation.

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin BTC/USD as legal tender in 2021.

Ukraine's President just legalized crypto.

Eventually every country will do this. https://t.co/q3S2h5H5Nm

— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) March 16, 2022

BTC Price Action: Bitcoin is up 3% to $40,225 at the time of writing.