Ukraine: New bill might soon make it ‘quite legal to pay with cryptos’

While many countries are trying to ban cryptocurrencies due to economic concerns, Ukraine has taken a positive step towards legalizing cryptocurrencies. According to the Deputy Minister of Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, a new crypto-related bill will soon make it “quite legal to pay with cryptocurrencies.”

However, despite the draft bill allowing transactions through crypto, it will not recognize digital assets as legal tender. In a recent interview, the minister claimed that if approved, the law will only allow crypto-purchases through payment intermediaries that enable crypto-to-fiat conversions.

Payments through cryptos, but…

The bill will also allow local payment processors to provide services for converting crypto to fiat to enable payments deriving from crypto.

According to Bornyakov,

“Today, the legislation in Ukraine also does not allow you to pay in dollars, but you can easily pay for purchases with a dollar card. Currencies are converted instantly during payment. […] Therefore, it will be quite legal to pay with cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, but through an intermediary.”

The bill has already made its way to the parliament and is in the process of a second reading right now. If all goes smoothly, the same could dictate the operations of cryptocurrencies in the country.

“Work permits”

Curiously, the deputy minister also claimed that Ukraine will provide “work permits” to certain cryptocurrencies to “make sure that they work in good faith.” While the comment was made with crypto-scams in mind, it’s unclear how these “permits” will be issued to cryptocurrencies.

A lot more clarity, however, was found when crypto-entities were discussed instead.

“They will not need a license, but a work permit in Ukraine. This is a simpler procedure than licensing. The conditions for obtaining a permit will not be difficult, you will not have to register a legal entity in Ukraine. The main thing is to prove that there is the necessary amount of capital, and there are no people from the sanctions lists among the founders.”

This bill has the potential to make Ukraine a leader in the crypto-sector. Especially since Ukraine’s President recently signed another digital currency law that would form the basis of the digital hryvnia.