thecoinrepublic.com
The Ukrainian Parliament has modified the virtual law bill that has included measures like ownership disclosure, mandatory KYC, authorization from the government. Yet, the officials are not happy with the new draft and feel that there are errors that need to be fixed to make the bill more investor-friendly and secure.
To regulate cryptocurrency transactions in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Parliament has revised the draft law on virtual assets. The updated draft law has included measures like ownership disclosure, making KYC mandatory and the need to get authorization from the government.
The new upgrade version has been released this week and the Digital Transformation Committee of the Parliament has asked the exchanges for the adoption of the new version. Under the new draft law, virtual assets are defined specifically, which include intangible goods, an object for civil circulation, a certification property to non-property rights and rights to claim other objects of civil rights.
Tightening the law
The law that has been updated by the regulatory authorities is stricter from earlier and one of the major regulations that the bill suggests moves around cryptocurrency platforms and exchanges.
As per the bill, the crypto exchanges have to take approval from the Ministry of Digital Transformation to operate legally in the nation. Besides, the crypto exchanges will also have to provide the ownership structure and show their financial transactions. This will help in decreasing the possibility of illegal actions.
Criticism galore
With the new modifications and regulations applied in the bill, the representatives from the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) have criticized the new modifications.
As per them more changes are required in the bill as there are several loopholes still left to be filled. There are certain errors too which will cause serious problems in the future if not taken care of.
The representatives also criticised that the bill is not in line with the international standards and lacks clear protection for investors against illegal activities. On the other hand, the representatives from the MDT, which proposed the new bill, have assured the officials that the contents of the bill serve the best interest of the country.
Alexander Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation has acknowledged that the ministry is facing criticism from all ends, who consider that the bill is not perfect. But he has noted that to protect the interest of the state, it is important to establish additional restrictions. There is no need to complicate the business environment.
He has assured that the interest of the crypto market participants will be taken care of by his department as their priority. He has also promised that his team would do its best to ensure the bill hits the floor of the Rada at the time of his last plenary week ending July 13.
First draft of the crypto bill
Ukraine has been a crypto-friendly nation for quite some time now. In the past few years, the nation has adopted crypto with open arms. The country is the first among the 150 nations to have adopted cryptocurrencies. It was ranked in last year’s edition of Global the Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis.
In December 2020, Ukraine had drafted the law which went for its successful first hearing to the Parliament. It was given the initial thumbs up from the authorities. With this effort, Ukraine will be joining the list of nations that have worked hard to put in place dedicated laws regarding cryptocurrency.
When the law was introduced to the Parliament hearing, things were not out. Some parliamentarians believed that there are more important issues to be discussed in Parliament than cryptos. However, the bill in the end had received 229 votes in favour out of 340 votes. It had passed the first stage of the legislative process.