In Ukraine, proposal to include Bitcoin wallet addresses in declarations

The public union “Virtual Assets of Ukraine” and the bipartisan association of MPs Blockchain4Ukraine have urged the head of the NAPC Alexander Novikov to change the procedure for declaring cryptocurrencies. A copy of the letter is in ForkLog’s possession.

The authors of the initiative advocate replacing the term “cryptocurrency” with “virtual assets”, enshrined in the eponymous law regulating their circulation. This would cover a broader range of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, tokens, stablecoins, NFTs, DeFi tokens, and in-game currencies.

The organisation’s members also propose including in the declaration the addresses of non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets in which digital assets are held, and the verification data of holders of custodial crypto wallets.

“The proposed changes will help minimise the risks of money laundering arising from criminal activity. Including addresses of virtual assets will allow the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption to verify the actual existence and history of declared virtual assets, which under the current regime is effectively impossible,” the letter says.

The procedure for declaring cryptocurrencies by Ukrainian officials was approved by the NAPC in February 2021. Under it, the document must specify the name of the cryptocurrency, the date of acquisition, the quantity, and the total value of the assets of each type belonging to the declarant or members of their family as of the last day of the reporting period.

Earlier, ForkLog reported that in the 2020 declarations Ukrainian officials listed a total of 46,351 BTC.

The public union “Virtual Assets of Ukraine” was founded in Kyiv in late November 2020. It comprises the public organisation Blockchain4Ukraine, law firms Arzinger and Juscutum, and the Binance exchange.

In January 2021, the organisation proposed to implement asset tokenisation at the state level. The union’s members set out their proposals in a letter addressed to the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

In March, the union’s members sent to Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal a roadmap for blockchain integration with the European Union.

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