Ukrainian lawmakers have drafted legislation to legalize all cryptocurrency transactions in the country, Bitcoin.com reported.
The bill submitted to Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine proposes to define cryptocurrencies as legal properties which can be exchanged for goods and services.
Initiated by a group of deputies in cooperation with the Ukrainian Blockchain Association, miners, and trading platforms, the draft law proposes for the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to be the regulator of the cryptocurrency market in the country.
Konstantin Yarmolenko, advisor to the head of Ukraine’s State Agency for E-Governance, thinks lawmakers have made one ‘dramatic mistake.’
“They made the National Bank responsible for regulation of cryptocurrencies, even though the regulator itself has stated on numerous occasions that cryptocurrency is not a currency, and therefore, is not a part of its jurisdiction.”
Meanwhile, the NBU has not come to its decision on how to regulate digital currencies. The head of projects and programs at the central bank’s open market department, Emal Bakhtar, said last week that Ukraine” is looking at how other countries, including the European Union, deal with cryptocurrencies.”
According to the legislation, the law would "enter into force" three months after publication. It remains to be seen if revisions will be made.