Ukraine legalizes Bitcoin and other virtual assets
In early October, 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky vetoed the bill for the creation of a new independent regulatory body aimed at overseeing crypto exchanges in Ukraine. Back then, he said that a new agency would need resources not planned in the country's budget, but yesterday everything went smoothly.
According to Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, the law on virtual assets that was approved yesterday "will legalize crypto exchanges and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud."
A few hours later, he also shared his thoughts on cloud adoption across the country's various agencies. His Twitter post on this matter says the following: "We believe that all government agencies should use the cloud tech. And today Parliament supported this approach by voting the respective law. This will reduce corruption risks, cut budget costs, and most importantly, accelerate the innovations in operation of state authorities."
As revealed by multiple sources, Ukraine is the world's leader when it comes to the percentage of its population that owns cryptocurrency (less than 6 million owners, which translates to almost 13 percent of the country's population). However, in terms of most cryptocurrency holders, India holds the crown, with over 100 million crypto owners, followed by the US, with less than 30 million.
Unlike last year's vetoed bill (mentioned in the first paragraph), the new Law of Ukraine on Virtual Assets does not involve the creation of a new regulatory body. According to the existing legislative framework, virtual assets will be regulated by Ukraine's National Securities Commission, the National Bank, and the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
Source(s)
Mykhailo Fedorov (on Twitter)
