Ukrainian Parliament Adopts Amended Virtual Assets Law – Legislators in Ukraine have approved a revised form of legislation aimed at regulating the country’s cryptocurrency sector. President Volodymyr Zelensky sent the bill back to the legislature with changes after it was passed last year.
Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed new legislation governing cryptocurrency activity in the country, which is a pioneer in cryptocurrency adoption in Eastern Europe. On Thursday, a large majority of the 365 voting members supported the amended law “On Virtual Assets” in its second and final reading.
The draft law was adopted in early September 2021, but President Zelensky of Ukraine returned it to the Rada in October with certain comments about crypto market regulators. According to Forklog, these have now been taken into account.
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The bill originally proposed the creation of a dedicated regulatory body, which the head of state opposed to, claiming that it would be too costly for the state budget. Its sponsors have given up on that objective and decided to delegate oversight to the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
The major authorities for the crypto sector will be the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). The NBU will be in charge of government oversight of the circulation of virtual assets secured by other currencies, while the NSSMC will be in charge of the rest, such as collateralized securities and crypto derivatives.
The commission will issue permits, monitor service providers’ actions, and create and maintain a national registry for businesses that deal in cryptocurrency. It will also be in charge of putting in place processes for examining and implementing financial fines in cases involving violations of the virtual assets law.
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According to the reports, Zelensky has ten days to sign the bill into law. The new legislation, however, will not take effect until the Rada makes the required revisions to Ukraine’s Tax Code regarding the taxation of crypto revenue and profits. Within days, the draft revisions should be submitted.
