Ukraine is working on a bill for virtual assets that will legalize crypto payments in the country, although, unlike El Salvador, it would not lead to the adoption of Bitcoin and other digital currencies as legal tender. The revelation has been made by Oleksandr Bornyakov, the deputy minister of Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital transformation, during an <a href="https://minfin.com.ua/ua/currency/articles/oleksandr-bornyakov-virtualni-aktivi-mozhut-povnistyu-zaminiti-deyaki-nacionalni-valyuti/?utm_source=telegram&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mdtrue*mintsifri-v-ukrayini-mozhna-bud" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">extensive interview</a> with financial news publisher Minfin.
<h2>Ukraine Preparing to Legalize Crypto Payments in New Bill</h2>
Bornyakov said on Friday that Ukraine is putting together legislation to make Bitcoin and other crypto payments legal in the country. 

“The new law will make VA (virtual assets) a completely legal and habitual phenomenon for the government and society,” he noted.

He indicated that Ukraine would issue “work permits”, or licenses, for cryptocurrencies registered overseas to safeguard its citizens. To obtain these permits, currencies would have to prove that they have a necessary amount of capital and are not operating out of a country from the sanctions list. 

The minister also noted that local payment processors would be able to convert cryptocurrencies to fiat money for transactions :

“The Virtual Assets Bill stipulates that companies will be able to provide services for such conversions. Therefore, in Ukraine it will be quite legal to pay with cryptocurrencies, but through an intermediary.”

Bornyakov expects that the upcoming bill would drive up the volume of transactions while cutting down their costs significantly. As a result, most users would still pay commissions, but the charges are likely to be lower than 1%. 
<h2>The Progress on Digital Hryvnia Implementation</h2>
As reported earlier, Ukraine is currently ramping up efforts to introduce its CBDC -- <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/ukraines-central-bank-grants-official-permission-to-issue-digital-money/">digital hryvnia</a>. Just a few days back, the Ukrainian government signed a law titled “On Payment services” that enabled the country’s central bank to issue an e-currency. The new legislation allowed NBU to set up testing grounds for payments services and called for close collaboration with the country’s startups in the payment industry. 

Bornyako also talked about e-hryvnia and cited a recent study that showed people wanted changes to the system of peer-to-peer transactions. He stated that the new currency would generate opportunities to use smart contracts and enhance the government’s ability to monitor hryvnia’s circulation. However, he refrained from providing a timeline for the digital hryvnia’s introduction, emphasizing that the central bank is better suited to answer these questions.

Draft Bill Proposes Legalization of Crypto Payments in Ukraine

Ukraine is working on a bill for virtual assets that will legalize crypto payments in the country, according to deputy minister Oleksandr Bornyakov.

Divya is a postgraduate from Jawaharlal Nehru University specializing in International Relations and a professional writer with more than 5 years of experience writing for the web. She is an avid reader interested in the global financial system and the effects of decentralization. At Cryptoknowmics, she hopes to deliver clear and understandable content to inform readers about the latest events in the crypto sector.

Draft Bill Proposes Legalization of Crypto Payments in Ukraine

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