Proposal Aims to Legalize Cryptocurrencies in Ukraine
A proposal for legislation containing regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrencies has been submitted to the Ukrainian Parliament. The bill was proposed by Konstantin Yarmolenko, advisor to the head of Ukraine’s State Agency for E-Governance.
First filed on October 6, the bill outlines the rules for exchange services, including taxation and data redemption requirements. The draft law calls for cryptocurrencies to be taxed as a kind of property. Cryptocurrency mining proceeds are also subject to taxes.
The bill proposes for the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to be the regulator of the cryptocurrency market in the country. The draft law also calls for the central bank to develop an operating procedure for cryptocurrency exchanges.
The bill also stated that cryptocurrency owners have the right to choose how to dispose of their cryptocurrencies, including exchanging them for other tokens, for electronic money, for fiat, or for goods and services. The same rules would apply to cryptocurrencies as they do private properties and barter contracts.
If the bill is passed and signed into law, the central bank would have two months from that date to create guidelines for exchanges.
Back in August, the central bank issued a statement about its regulations on cryptocurrencies, aiming to clarify its legal status. At that time, the NBU stated that there is only one legal currency in Ukraine – the hryvnia – and that nothing else can be issued or used for payments. As with many other governments, the NBU cited the lack of regulatory oversight as the reason for its concern.
“In different countries, bitcoin is classified in different ways – as virtual currency, money surrogate, intangible value, virtual goods and the like. For its part, the NBU has not officially supported any of the above definitions.”
