Ukraine’s digital assets bill could make crypto payments legal

While cryptocurrencies might not be legal tender, payments with them could soon be legal in Ukraine

The Ukrainian government is working on a bill that could make cryptocurrency payments legal in the country. However, the bill doesn’t imply that cryptocurrencies would become legal tender in Ukraine.

Deputy Minister of Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, Oleksandr Bornyakov, has submitted a bill that is designed to make cryptocurrency payments legal in the country. The minister is confident that crypto payments could be legal via payment intermediaries that support crypto-to-fiat conversions.

However, he clarified that Ukraine’s draft bill on virtual assets doesn’t make cryptocurrencies legal tender. Instead, it only allows them to be used to pay for services and products. Local payment processors would be allowed to provide services for converting cryptos to fiat currencies to enable payments with digital currencies.

The bill compares the US dollar’s status with that of cryptocurrencies, stating that although the US dollar is not legal tender in Ukraine, it can be used to pay for goods and services in the country. “Today, the legislation in Ukraine also does not permit you to pay in US dollars, but you can easily pay for purchases with a dollar card. Therefore, it will be quite legal to pay with cryptos in Ukraine, but through an intermediary.”

The minister added that the upcoming bill would officially legitimise cryptocurrency trading and reporting in Ukraine. By making crypto trading and reporting officially legitimate, the minister expects a surge in the number of cryptocurrency service providers, including exchanges and wallets.

Although cryptocurrencies are not considered legal tender in most countries, they can be used to pay for services and goods. However, El Salvador is set to make Bitcoin legal tender on 7 September after the bill was signed earlier this year. Some Latin American countries like Uruguay are also reportedly looking to make Bitcoin legal tender.