Despite being caught up in a war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky officially signed a law on virtual assets – making cryptocurrencies legal in the country.
The law was initially proposed in September 2021 and Zelensky had requested for some changes to be made. The revised version of the bill was first introduced on February 17. Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation had been working on developing the legal framework for crypto companies for almost two years.
It should be noted that there is nothing in the new law saying anything about making bitcoin a legal tender in Ukraine. Alex Bornyakov, the deputy minister of digital transformation, highlighted that the new crypto law will play an important role in Ukraine’s defense process. He tweeted that it will help raise awareness and engage people worldwide. The minister described the new law as a major step towards bringing the crypto sector out of the shadows. Through this, a legal market for virtual assets will be seen in Ukraine.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice president, has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency. Two days after Kremlin began its military assault on Ukraine on February 24, Fedorov called for Bitcoin and Ethereum donations to Ukraine’s official wallet addresses. Ukraine has received nearly $100 million in crypto donations so far. Donations have been made in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, Solana, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu as well, among others.
