Ukraine Parliament passes law that formally legalizes Bitcoin and cryptocurrency

Ukraine's legislature on Wednesday passed a law that recognizes Bitcoin as legal and regulatable tender. The passage of this law on virtual assets is the first step in the country, allowing taxation and regulation of cryptocurrency.

It still needs to be signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. A few days ago he met with the representatives of the Stellar Development Foundation.

Assuming Zelensky approves the law, as explained by Bitcoin Magazine, this means that people who own the cryptocurrency are allowed to do so, and businesses involved with it are above board. The main accomplishments with Ukraine’s Bitcoin bill involve tax purposes, defining wallets/private keys, and allowing the general cryptocurrency market passage to operate.

The “draft law on virtual assets” was first introduced in June of last year and went through the country’s legislative process since then.

What’s also still required, however, is that the Ukraine Parliament update their general tax codes to account for this field. A Ministry of Digital Transformation spokesperson says that’s likely to happen by the end of the year.

It needs to be clarified that what Ukraine is doing is not like the recent buzz in El Salvador. As said by Kyiv Post, Ukraine previously treated cryptocurrencies as illegal scams.

El Savador’s President Nayib Bukele made headlines this week by having their government hold 550 Bitcoin, and recognizing it as a full-fledged legal tender.

According to Bloomberg that means places like Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and McDonald’s are required to accept it in exchange for goods and services. Businesses that don’t yet have the technological ability to do this, however, are exempt from the law.

The move to legitimize cryptocurrency in this direct manner was first proposed by El Savador’s President at the beginning of the summer.

When it comes to the latest mainstream innovations on adapting Bitcoin, the social media platform Twitter was spotted testing one such feature a few days ago. Their people are working on a system that integrates Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses with user profiles, allowing people to receive tips by way of their Tip Jar feature.