National Bank of Ukraine Will Not Consider Bitcoin a Currency

Deputy head of Ukraine’s National Bank Oleg Churiy has stated that the regulator does not consider bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies a currency, and sees scam-related risks inherent in their usage.

Speaking at the Ukrainian Financial Forum on September 22nd, he stated:

“We can be absolutely certain that it is not a currency as it has no centralized issuer. And we can’t recognize it as a means of payment.”

Mr. Churiy went on to suggest that most regulators don’t see cryptocurrencies as a threat due to their minor volume, and the main concerns lie with the fact that people could lose money on investment or as a result of scam.

The head of Ukraine’s National Securities Commission Timur Khromayev agreed with Mr. Churiy:

“There is no information support or investor protection.”

Earlier announcements suggested that Ukraine will create a working group to thoroughly analyze the legal status of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Back in August, spokespersons for the regulator stated that bitcoin has no certain legal status, yet mining cannot constitute any violation of the country’s legislation.