Ukraine Legalizes Bitcoin With Passage of Crypto Bill

A trend has emerged in which countries have begun to integrate bitcoin into their economies. Until now, the focus has been on Latin America, with El Salvador, Cuba and Panama making moves.

Europe is in play too, with Ukraine passing a bitcoin bill of its own. The Ukrainian Parliament gave the Draft Law on Virtual Assets the green light on Sept. 8, granting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies legal status in the Eastern European nation and setting the regulatory wheels in motion.  The bill must still be signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelensky after receiving the support of 276 members of Parliament.

Ukraine has officially passed a law that legalized Bitcoin.

— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) September 8, 2021

Ukrainians are limited to using the local currency, the hryvnia, to buy goods and services. The new law, however, will bring bitcoin and other digital assets closer to the forefront and give locals more confidence to invest.

Ukraine on Crypto

Until now, Ukraine has been lukewarm on cryptocurrencies, neither banning them nor formally accepting them, either. The country has been lacking a regulatory framework from which crypto and blockchain service providers could operate.

The Ukrainian population has been free to own and trade bitcoin and other digital currencies, but they lacked the backing of the court system in the event of a scam or fraud. The new law is expected to encourage more Ukrainians to enter the market.

If the legislation is signed into law, it will set the tone for cryptocurrency regulation in Ukraine. Cryptocurrency exchanges and Ukrainians holding cryptocurrencies will be better protected from nefarious activity. Cryptocurrency merchants will be able to legitimately operate in the country, which means they will have to pay their taxes in Ukraine too. They will likely need to have the necessary permits, which are expected to be issued by a yet-to-be-named regulatory branch.

The plan is to integrate cryptocurrencies into the economy for merchants and investors alike by 2022, according to local reports. For that to happen, however, MPs must overhaul the tax and civil codes to pave the way for crypto. The passage of the draft law was the first step in the process.

Bitcoin Price

The bitcoin price has yet to reflect the bullish sentiment, with the price stuck below the $50,000 that was surpassed last weekend.

The pullback in the bitcoin price is not worrying sophisticated investors given that the technical indicators and fundamentals appear bullish in nature.