Ukraine passes bill to legalise Bitcoin
Ukraine has become the latest country to legalise Bitcoin after its parliament approved a bill in its final reading.
On Thursday, the parliament passed the new Law of Ukraine on Virtual Assets with 270 votes.
“The new law is an additional opportunity for business development in our country. Foreign and Ukrainian crypto companies will be able to operate legally, and Ukrainians will have convenient and secure access to the global market for virtual assets,” Mykhaylo Fedorov, Ukrainian minister of digital transformation, said in a statement.
However, the country has not made the digital asset a legal tender.
The bill details requirements that Bitcoin service providers such as exchanges should abide by and determines fines for violations of the law’s provisions, in addition to determining that the country’s National Securities Commission regulate the cryptocurrency market.
The statement added that the commission would be responsible for issuing permits to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency service providers, carrying out supervision and financial monitoring of the market.
Last September, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had vetoed a similar bill on cryptocurrencies, saying the country could not afford to create a new regulatory body specifically for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
However, the bill was returned to the Ukrainian parliament with Mr Zelensky’s suggestion to let existing regulators oversee the sector.
Now, parliament has incorporated his recommendations and passed the amended bill.
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