Ukraine’s Financial Regulators Support Introduction of Regulatory Framework for Cryptocurrencies

Ukraine’s National Bank, the National Commission for Securities and Stock Market, and the National Commission on Finance Services Market Regulation have supported the initiative to legalize cryptocurrencies in Ukraine.

In their joint statement, the spokespersons for the departments have noted that complex legal nature of cryptocurrencies does not allow one to recognize them as money, currency, a foreign currency, a currency value, e-money, securities, or money surrogates.

Last month, Ukraine’s finance minister Oleksandr Danyliuk said cryptocurrencies will not be banned  even though its legal status is yet to be determined.

Still, the issue of their legal status has to take into account the recent trends found in development of such technologies, they wrote.

“The aim of introducing a regulatory framework is to protect the consumer rights, tackle money laundering and other illegal activities, identify the subjects of such operations (financial monitoring), and a mechanism for taxation of such revenues,” the statement reads.

At the same time, the regulators reminded that cryptocurrency investment and operations are highly risky.

“Anyone investing in cryptocurrency has to realize they do it at their own risk,” they noted.

Earlier this week, the city council of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, has submitted a draft decree on establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies to Ukraine’s Parliament and the National Bank.