Earlier this month the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s legislature, approved amendments for “the prevention of the legalization of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction proliferation .” Supported by a significant majority in the Rada, these amendments introduce legal terms and definitions pertaining to the crypto space.
As reported by Bitcoin.com, the draft bill aims to transpose into national law the standards of the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The bill identifies who is to take responsibility for the oversight of cryptocurrencies in the country. It also incorporates “virtual assets” which have been described as property and as a digital expression of value that can be traded or transferred and used for payment or investment purposes.
Bitcoin.com notes that the Ukrainian government under President Volodymyr Zelensky includes many young IT professionals. Working together with business circles, these professionals have taken steps to support innovative industries. In particular, they have renewed efforts to legalize and regulate economic activities related to cryptocurrencies.
Thus, Ukraine has recently signed a memorandum with the crypto exchange Belarusian Currency.com to cooperate on the drafting of new crypto and IT legislation, reported Bitcoin.com. The Currency.com experts, who previously advised the Belarusian government on crypto matters, have now joined a working group at Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.
The “National Startup Fund,” the state-backed startup investment fund launched earlier this year, is part of the authorities’ efforts to support the emerging blockchain and crypto industries: startups from these fields are eligible to receive a fraction of the $12 million which the fund intends to inject into innovative companies this and next year.
This article contains excerpts from materials published in Bitcoin.com (1, 2)
