President of Ukraine passes law to legalize cryptocurrency in the country

Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, has officially signed into law the structure upon which Ukraine will build cryptocurrency markets and legalize the emerging market.

According to the reports coming out of Coindesk, Cointelegraph, and other digital asset-focused outlets, crypto exchanges and firms handling digital assets will now be required to register with the government to operate legally in Ukraine, and banks will be allowed to open accounts for crypto companies.

The new law also reportedly empowers Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission to determine the country’s policies on digital assets, issue licenses to businesses dealing with crypto, and act as a financial watchdog.

Even without formal regulation, since fall 2020, Russians, Ukrainians, and Venezuelans had become among the active retail users of cryptocurrencies, according to the blockchain analysis outfit, Chainanalysis.

The types of regulations passed into law have taken on new urgency. The war-torn country received at least $100 million in crypto donations in the weeks since Russia invaded the nation, prompting an estimated three million people to flee the country of 42 million.

With the help of the new law, Ukraine’s first crypto exchange, Kuna, will no longer be limited to helping the country spend the donations directly with crypto-friendly suppliers but to convert digital currencies to much-needed FIAT currency.