Litecoin is one of the first open-source altcoins based on the original Bitcoin code. It was initially a strong competitor to the first cryptocurrency. However, as the cryptocurrency market expanded, Litecoin’s popularity gradually declined.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a law on the legalisation of cryptocurrency in Ukraine
In Ukraine, the legal regulation of cryptocurrencies has been in question for a long time. Digital assets were not subject to control by government agencies and huge amounts of money bypassed the tax budget of Ukraine. A considerable number of influential officials used this situation to their advantage, hiding their funds from curious journalists and declaring income, which is mandatory. This was the case until March 16, 2022.
This spring, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed an updated document with 3637 registration number, namely the law “On virtual assets”, which brings cryptocurrency out of the shadows, legalising it. “From now on, cryptocurrency assets are in a legal status,” says the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov.
“The crypto industry is one of the most sectors that are dynamically progressing in the global digital economy. Over the previous year, the value of cryptocurrencies amounted to almost $ 3 trillion. Of all the spheres of activity in Ukraine, none of the industries is able to provide the same successful capital gains figures,” the minister says.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Committee for Digital Transformation of Ukraine specified that Ukraine is in the TOP-5 countries in the world in terms of the number of cryptocurrency users, and has an established group of developers and blockchain programmers. Also in Ukraine, the growth of startups related to cryptocurrencies is increasing.
The essence of the law "On virtual assets" and the role of state regulators
The law will define the legal status, classification, ownership and regulators of virtual assets, as well as establish registration requirements for crypto service providers.
According to bill No. 3637, Ukrainian crypto owners get the right to legally exchange various cryptocurrency coins (for example, bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, ripple, dogecoin, etc.), they will be able to enter them in tax returns, and also launch a business based on the blockchain. The bill “On Virtual Assets” signed by Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be regulated by the main market controllers: the NBU and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission.
It will also create all available contracts for the legal formation of digital assets and publish a list of service providers related to cryptocurrency and the main conditions and rules for their registration. The main aspect is that it is planned to introduce a number of specific measures to track finance in the field of digital assets in order to ensure the safety of users in transactions with cryptocurrencies.
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission, in turn, undertakes to implement government regulation in the field of virtual money, it will also be able to form a cycle of turnover of digital assets and provide personal permits to importers of services in the cryptocurrency field.
What benefits will crypto-exchanges, exchangers and ordinary users get?
- foreign and Ukrainian crypto-exchanges will start working on the territory of Ukraine legally;
- banks are given the opportunity to open accounts for use by crypto companies;
- citizens of Ukraine will be able to get reliable protection for their investments in digital assets;
- the authorities of the country undertake to provide guarantees of judicial protection of the rights to cryptocurrency.
Since the beginning of the war, on February 24, 2022, of the Russian Federation against the sovereignty of Ukraine, cryptocurrency has taken on the role of a powerful tool to attract additional financial assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In just 3 weeks of the war, the Ukrainian crypto fund raised more than $54 million in cryptocurrency to support the army. The current potential of the cryptocurrency industry all over the world is estimated at billions of dollars, these are both investments and business projects, as well as the daily operations of ordinary users when buying or selling cryptocurrencies among themselves and exchanging cryptocurrencies for fiat money. The growth rate of this industry is ahead of all the usual sectors of the world economy. Due to the adoption by Volodymyr Zelenskiy of the law “On Virtual Assets”, the cryptocurrency market in Ukraine has the opportunity to occupy a significant place in the digital market sector.
