Crypto Regulations in Ukraine
Ukraine has passed a law that creates a legal framework for the cryptocurrency industry in the country. The bill, adopted by Ukraine’s parliament last month and signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, will allow foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchanges to operate legally, according to the country’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. Banks will be allowed to open accounts for crypto companies.
Source: CNBC
A month ago, Ukraine’s parliament passed a bill to legalize cryptocurrency, preparing a framework for the regulation and management of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Today, the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed into law that bill, “On Virtual Assets,” which establishes a legal framework for the country to operate a regulated crypto market.
Source: Tech Crunch
Ukraine will soon legally recognize cryptocurrency after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a virtual assets bill into law on Wednesday. Under the new legislation, Ukraine will be able to establish a legal, regulated crypto market. “From now on foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrencies exchanges will operate legally and banks will open accounts for crypto companies,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation tweeted on Wednesday. “It is an important step towards developing the [virtual assets] market in Ukraine.”
Source: Mashable
Currently, there are no regulations that govern cryptocurrencies in Ukraine. In 2018, the Ministry of Economic Development of Ukraine circulated its “Concept of State Policy in the Field of Virtual Assets,” which prompted a national legal and policy framework for various cryptocurrencies. By doing so, the Ministry of Economic Development intended to give meaning to key legal terms relating to virtual assets, as well as amend its taxation and financial sector legislation to apply to issues related to cryptocurrencies.
Source: Freeman Law
Crypto assets have become widely used in Ukraine over the last few years. To promote and expand their legal use, the Parliament has adopted the Law on Virtual Assets, following the Presidential veto of last autumn. While crypto assets would need some implementing regulations to become a widespread alternative to fiat currencies in the country, Ukraine has already started to use crypto assets to collect donations for the support of the Ukrainian army and for the humanitarian efforts to save Ukrainians from the effects of Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion. The new legal framework in Ukraine will permit crypto exchanges to work in Ukraine, Ukrainian banks will be able to open crypto cards and accounts, and users of virtual assets will be entitled to expand the use of such assets and enjoy legal protection for them.
Source: CMS
The Law defines a virtual asset as an intangible benefit, which has a cost and is built using a combination of electronic data. A virtual asset is not a payment instrument (a medium of exchange) and may not be exchanged for assets (goods), works or services. Virtual assets are divided between secured and unsecured assets. The main difference between them is that secured virtual assets certify proprietary rights (not a security interest), in particular the right to claim other objects of civil rights), whereas unsecured virtual assets do not represent any such rights or assets.
Source: Kinstellar
The draft law stipulates that profit from cryptocurrency transactions is subject to corporate income tax. The draft law suggests: (i) including income from cryptocurrency transactions into the tax base for individuals (5%); and (ii) establishing cryptocurrency transactions as those not subject to VAT.
Source: CMS
The law allows foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchanges to operate legally, according to the country’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. In several countries where there is not specific cryptocurrency regulation like Ukraine, governments have sought to bring exchanges and other digital assets companies under the purview of financial regulators. For example, in the U.K., cryptocurrency exchanges must register with the Financial Conduct Authority and are subject to existing rules around money laundering.
Source: CNBC
The new legal framework in Ukraine will permit crypto exchanges to work in Ukraine, Ukrainian banks will be able to open crypto cards and accounts, and users of virtual assets will be entitled to expand the use of such assets and enjoy legal protection for them.
Source: CMS
The Ukrainian government – and an NGO providing support to the military – have raised $63.8 million, through more than 120,000 crypto asset donations since the start of the Russian invasion. This includes a $5.8 million donation by Polkadot founder Gavin Wood and a CryptoPunk NFT worth over $200,000. This article will be updated with current figures.
Source: Elliptic
Ukraine has received more than $50 million in crypto donations since the war started, with the majority of donations resulting from the Ukraine government twitter account requesting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and Polkadot. So, it’s not surprising that cybercriminals are focusing on crypto donations to trick victims. The team has discovered an endless wave of email scam messages with subject lines including “Help Ukraine”, “Help Ukraine war victims” and “Help Ukraine stop the war! – humanitarian fund raising”. While the victims are under the impression that they are helping Ukraine, the donation is going straight into a scammer’s wallet. In the last few days, the research team has uncovered more than 100k emails per day. Over 50% of the emails are being routed through the US, however, this is not an indication that the emails originated in the US. The research team found emails coming from all over the globe, including Indonesia, Brazil, India, South Africa and Colombia.
Source: Cyren
Ukraine National Police takes down crypto fraud cybercrime group The National Police of Ukraine (NPU) said on Tuesday it took down a network of call centers targeting Ukrainian and European Union citizens, who have already been duped by crypto scams.
Source: Forkast
Authorities in Ukraine claim to have exposed a network of call centers in the country engaged in financial fraud targeting domestic and EU citizens. The criminal group’s ‘employees’ apparently used software to spoof phone numbers, so that they appeared to be calling from legitimate banking institutions. After cold calling their victims, the scammers would pretend to be staff at these banks in order to trick them into handing over their card details.
Source: Infosecurity
Law enforcement in Ukraine has announced today the arrest of a cybercrime gang who ran 20 cryptocurrency exchanges where they laundered more than $42 million in funds for criminal groups. The group, which authorities said had three members, has been operating from Ukraine’s Poltava region since 2018. According to Ukrainian officials, the group has advertised its services on underground criminal forums, where they offered to convert cryptocurrency from criminal activities into fiat (real-world) currency for other groups, helping criminals launder their ill-gotten profits.
Source: ZD Net
In accordance with the LPS, the National Bank of Ukraine will create a regulatory sandbox environment for testing services, technologies, and tools based on innovative technologies. Following the end of the testing period, the participant of the regulatory sandbox will have the right to continue its operation after the obtainment of the relevant license. In addition, the law provides for a grace period of up to 2 years for participants of the sandbox during which the simplification or non-application of certain requirements established by legislation may be allowed. The licensing procedure for sandbox participants can be less strict too.
Source: Finextra
