The Ukrainian parliament has postponed consideration of a key bill on the legalization of virtual assets and taxation of cryptocurrencies, despite the fact that it was supported by the relevant committee and expected by the IMF. The reason was an unexpected initiative from regulators and a decision made at the level of the Parliament.
The Ukrainian parliament has postponed consideration of a key bill on the legalization of virtual assets and taxation of cryptocurrencies, despite the fact that it was supported by the relevant committee and expected by the IMF. The reason was an unexpected initiative from regulators and a decision made at the level of the Parliament.
As Forbes Ukraine reports, the bill disappeared from the Verkhovna Rada agenda after a meeting at the President’s Office. The blocking was publicly announced by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, and confirmed by two MPs and one government official, who commented on the event on condition of anonymity.
The document concerns the regulation of the circulation of virtual assets in Ukraine and the establishment of tax rules for cryptocurrency transactions. The law was intended to introduce taxation of profits from trading in crypto assets (including Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) at a rate of 5% for individuals and 18% for legal entities. It was also intended to allow businesses to officially operate in this area, open accounts, attract investments and exit the «gray zone».
This is one of Ukraine’s commitments under the IMF program. The document was to be adopted by October 2024 as part of financial sector reform.
On April 24, the Rada’s specialized financial committee unanimously supported the bill. Its chairman, Danylo Hetmantsev, then stated that the document was ready to be submitted to the floor and was a priority. However, in early May, the bill was suddenly removed from the agenda without explanation.
According to Forbes sources, this happened after the intervention of the head of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, Ruslan Magomedov. He insisted on finalizing the provisions on the role of the NSSMC as a regulator, although the financial committee had already taken into account most of the commission’s comments.
«The stock market is actually not working here, so the National Commission wants to show that it also plays an important role in the future of financial technologies,» suggests one of the deputies.
The bill was supposed to send a signal to international investors that Ukraine is opening up the crypto market, legalizing mining, tokenization of assets, and preparing the ground for the emergence of regulated exchanges. It was supported by the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Tax Committee, and the crypto community. At the same time, without the adoption of this document in full, Ukraine risks not fulfilling its obligations to the IMF.
In addition, without tax regulations, the National Bank does not allow banks to open accounts for crypto businesses. Therefore, without the adoption of this law, the activities of crypto companies will continue to remain in the «gray» zone, and Ukrainian startups will continue to open legal entities abroad.
In 2022, Ukraine adopted the basic law «On Virtual Assets», but it has not yet fully come into effect due to the lack of tax regulations and secondary regulation. The new bill was supposed to be the final step in the formation of a full-fledged crypto market. After that, the government promised to launch licensing of crypto exchanges, brokers, custodial services and virtual asset providers. Instead, the industry currently operates without state supervision.
Sources in the Verkhovna Rada say that the bill will not be returned to the session hall until June. However, under pressure from the IMF or EU partners, the decision may be accelerated. The Cabinet hopes that the document will have time to be finalized and approved in the summer.
We also recently published an article about Ukrainian civil servants who declared the largest number of crypto assets.
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