Ukraine’s Parliament Legalizes Crypto

On Thursday, 17 February, the Ukrainian Parliament—the Verkhovna Rada—passed a virtual asset law that legalizes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The move comes amid soaring political tensions with neighboring Russia.

The law establishes the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine (NSSMC) and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) as the two significant regulators who will oversee the crypto market.

According to Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorovon, legalizing cryptocurrencies will protect the country’s assets from possible abuse or fraud. He also said that the new law legitimizing crypto exchanges would bring the sector out of the shadows.

“Ukraine is already in [the] top-5 countries on cryptocurrency usage. Today we made one more step forward: Parliament adopted [a] law on virtual assets! This will legalize crypto exchangers and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud,” Fedorovon tweeted.

For some time now, Ukraine has been positioning itself as the crypto hub of the world. The country is currently ranked fourth on the Global Crypto Adoption Index, compiled by blockchain data firm Chainalysis, with roughly $150 million worth of daily crypto transactions.

Crypto Donations Are Powering Ukraine’s Defense

As tensions with Russia are at a peak, Ukrainians are crowdfunding Bitcoin to support their country’s military.

According to a report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, Bitcoin donations to Ukrainian volunteers, NGOs, and hacking groups backing the government have soared. Routing funds through Bitcoin has allowed donors to bypass banks and payment gateways that might block the funds.

Activists use crypto donations totaling thousands of dollars for various purposes, including equipping the Ukrainian army with defense equipment, buying medical supplies and drones, and mounting cyberattacks against Russia, Elliptic noted.

The borderless and censorship-proof nature of Bitcoin has helped Ukrainians and other people from troubled geographies in these ways. “Cryptocurrency is particularly suited to international fundraising because it doesn’t respect national boundaries and it’s censorship-resistant—there is no central authority that can block transactions, for example, in response to sanctions,” Elliptic’s chief scientist Tom Robinson said.