[2017-10-19] Ukraine’s New Bill Treats Bitcoin as Financial Asset and Encourages

[moriskarlov]

Two bills to provide legal frameworks for cryptocurrencies including bitcoin have now been submitted to the Ukrainian parliament. The latest one proposes recognizing them as financial assets. It also defines cryptocurrency derivatives, as well as proposes simplifying taxation and reducing electricity tariffs for mining activities.

Two Bills Submitted to Parliament

Following the first bill on cryptocurrency which was submitted on October 6, the second bill has been submitted to the Ukrainian parliament. Entitled “On the stimulation of the market of cryptocurrencies and their derivatives in Ukraine,” Bill No. 7183-1 was submitted last week.

In the new bill, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Financial Policy and Banking, Serhiy Rybalka, proposes to recognize cryptocurrency as a “financial asset,” The Financial Club reported. “It makes no sense to reinvent the wheel and invent new rules for it. The most effective model is the adaptation of cryptocurrencies to the already existing legislation,” the publication quoted him saying. “That is why we propose to recognize cryptocurrency as a financial asset.”

Ain publication elaborated:

        "According to this document, state bodies are responsible for monitoring cryptocurrency exchanges. Cryptocurrency exchanges will be required to obtain a license for their activities. They have the right to open accounts in cryptocurrency both for citizens of Ukraine and for non-residents."

>>> https://news.bitcoin.com/ukraine-bill-bitcoin-financial-asset-mining/

[greeklogos]

Well, this seems to me more democratic way for regulation of crypto currencies. After admitting cryptos as asset all users will have to pay taxes from their crypto profit and it's normally. I like this fact that they make it available to everybody meanwhile Ukrain's neighbour Russia is wishing to make bitcoin and cryptos acceptable for use only to professional traders and investors.

[Lucius]

If every country adopted such regulations I think it would be very good for BTC and for any other cyptocoin.State and government just want to have some kind of control and of course make a profit on taxes.The most important thing for every government is to regulate currency exchanges,but most users are accustomed to a great deal of privacy on this matter.Things are changing slowly so users will have to adapt to some new rules.I think that will have a positive impact on public opinion about BTC and cryptocurrency in general.

[hatshepsut93]

This bill hasn't been voted yet so it's still remains uncertain whether it will pass but in general Ukraine is much more liberal than Russia as its government is not obsessed with controlling citizens in a totalitarian way - everyone who has even a little bit of power just wants to protect and increase their wealth, usually accumulated through corruption. And Bitcoin doesn't seem to be a threat to this cleptocracy, and in fact some MP's already own a big amounts of it, while many others might own it secretly - just like they do with offshore bank accounts.

[veleten]

This bill hasn't been voted yet so it's still remains uncertain whether it will pass but in general Ukraine is much more liberal than Russia as its government is not obsessed with controlling citizens in a totalitarian way - everyone who has even a little bit of power just wants to protect and increase their wealth, usually accumulated through corruption. And Bitcoin doesn't seem to be a threat to this cleptocracy, and in fact some MP's already own a big amounts of it, while many others might own it secretly - just like they do with offshore bank accounts.

you do not know about Ukraine that much,do you?
saying that Ukrainian goverment(which came to power as a result of a coup d'etat,by the way) is not obsessed with controlling
its citizens in a totalitarian way sounds like a joke,you are not aware of the civil war raging there,just because one part of the country decided to teach the other how to "love"it properly
including bombing and killing its own citizens,sarving them and blockading them,depriving them of pensions etc.
definitely what a true democracy would be doing
as for the actual voting,the civil unrest in Kiev might result in another overthrown goverment,so there could be another set of MP's
or/and president who will be working on the bills,just saying
and of course,ukrainian mp's didn't fail to put humongous amounts of coins into their tax declarations
some of them became millionaires due to the price rise and many of them boast 100+ coins stashes

[pixie85]

This bill hasn't been voted yet so it's still remains uncertain whether it will pass but in general Ukraine is much more liberal than Russia as its government is not obsessed with controlling citizens in a totalitarian way - everyone who has even a little bit of power just wants to protect and increase their wealth, usually accumulated through corruption. And Bitcoin doesn't seem to be a threat to this cleptocracy, and in fact some MP's already own a big amounts of it, while many others might own it secretly - just like they do with offshore bank accounts.

you do not know about Ukraine that much,do you?
saying that Ukrainian goverment(which came to power as a result of a coup d'etat,by the way) is not obsessed with controlling
its citizens in a totalitarian way sounds like a joke,you are not aware of the civil war raging there,just because one part of the country decided to teach the other how to "love"it properly
including bombing and killing its own citizens,sarving them and blockading them,depriving them of pensions etc.
definitely what a true democracy would be doing
as for the actual voting,the civil unrest in Kiev might result in another overthrown goverment,so there could be another set of MP's
or/and president who will be working on the bills,just saying
and of course,ukrainian mp's didn't fail to put humongous amounts of coins into their tax declarations
some of them became millionaires due to the price rise and many of them boast 100+ coins stashes

It's true, unfortunately. The situation in Ukraine is very unstable and the officials are corrupt. Also they have nowhere to look for allies. The separatists were supported by Russia, so the situation between these two countries isn't the best and Ukraine is not a member of the EU, so there won't be any help from that side. It's basically on its own.
I think they should embrace Bitcoin because their economic situation is going from bad to worse and they could use some alternative ways of storing wealth.

[oficman]

Well, this seems to me more democratic way for regulation of crypto currencies. After admitting cryptos as asset all users will have to pay taxes from their crypto profit and it's normally. I like this fact that they make it available to everybody meanwhile Ukrain's neighbour Russia is wishing to make bitcoin and cryptos acceptable for use only to professional traders and investors.

It's good that Ukraine does not take an example from its neighbor. Only a few users will be able to speculate with crypto-currencies. And this is bad, when the country's domestic economy is limping.

[iamTom123]

This bill hasn't been voted yet so it's still remains uncertain whether it will pass but in general Ukraine is much more liberal than Russia as its government is not obsessed with controlling citizens in a totalitarian way - everyone who has even a little bit of power just wants to protect and increase their wealth, usually accumulated through corruption. And Bitcoin doesn't seem to be a threat to this cleptocracy, and in fact some MP's already own a big amounts of it, while many others might own it secretly - just like they do with offshore bank accounts.

I am hoping that those proposed laws would eventually be passed so that soon we can be looking at Ukraine as the land where Bitcoin bloom. Unlike Russia, I can see Ukraine taking the lead in this side of the world. Let's hope that more Bitcoin-related organizations can be heading to Ukraine when things are already in placed. With some of their parliamentarians are getting into Bitcoin, there is more chances that regulations can soon be in placed to deal with new challenges and maybe problems brought on by recognizing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general.

[peter0425]

This bill hasn't been voted yet so it's still remains uncertain whether it will pass but in general Ukraine is much more liberal than Russia as its government is not obsessed with controlling citizens in a totalitarian way - everyone who has even a little bit of power just wants to protect and increase their wealth, usually accumulated through corruption. And Bitcoin doesn't seem to be a threat to this cleptocracy, and in fact some MP's already own a big amounts of it, while many others might own it secretly - just like they do with offshore bank accounts.

I am hoping that those proposed laws would eventually be passed so that soon we can be looking at Ukraine as the land where Bitcoin bloom. Unlike Russia, I can see Ukraine taking the lead in this side of the world. Let's hope that more Bitcoin-related organizations can be heading to Ukraine when things are already in placed. With some of their parliamentarians are getting into Bitcoin, there is more chances that regulations can soon be in placed to deal with new challenges and maybe problems brought on by recognizing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general.

If you are claiming that some Parliament members have bitcoin stash somewhere, then I'm sure that in no time this bill will be amended because they are in for making more money. And its really looks like they have a different mind set as opposed to Putin's regime. Yeah I would agree that they are more of liberal type form of government. Maybe after years of oppression they choose this kind of government so that people can somewhat enjoy their freedom, including the freedom to deal with bitcoin or cyptocurrency. Let's see how this pans out in the next few days. I'm sure this is another boost for bitcoin economy.

[hatshepsut93]

This bill hasn't been voted yet so it's still remains uncertain whether it will pass but in general Ukraine is much more liberal than Russia as its government is not obsessed with controlling citizens in a totalitarian way - everyone who has even a little bit of power just wants to protect and increase their wealth, usually accumulated through corruption. And Bitcoin doesn't seem to be a threat to this cleptocracy, and in fact some MP's already own a big amounts of it, while many others might own it secretly - just like they do with offshore bank accounts.

I am hoping that those proposed laws would eventually be passed so that soon we can be looking at Ukraine as the land where Bitcoin bloom. Unlike Russia, I can see Ukraine taking the lead in this side of the world. Let's hope that more Bitcoin-related organizations can be heading to Ukraine when things are already in placed. With some of their parliamentarians are getting into Bitcoin, there is more chances that regulations can soon be in placed to deal with new challenges and maybe problems brought on by recognizing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general.

If you are claiming that some Parliament members have bitcoin stash somewhere, then I'm sure that in no time this bill will be amended because they are in for making more money. And its really looks like they have a different mind set as opposed to Putin's regime. Yeah I would agree that they are more of liberal type form of government. Maybe after years of oppression they choose this kind of government so that people can somewhat enjoy their freedom, including the freedom to deal with bitcoin or cyptocurrency. Let's see how this pans out in the next few days. I'm sure this is another boost for bitcoin economy.

Well, it's a fact that a few Parliament members own BTC - it's just my speculation that there can be more. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that the whole government is pro-Bitcoin - there are a total of 450 MP's and their votes are often influenced by oligarchs. Also, there wasn't much talk about cryptocurrencies in Ukraine if you'd compare it with Russia and how we've been hearing news from there almost every week. Before this bill was drafted the government almost didn't care about Bitcoin and people could and still can do whatever they like with it.

[Marry Finch]

I recently read that in the first version of the bill submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine it was proposed to recognize the crypto currency as a financial asset, but with the right to exchange crypto-currencies for goods and services. In general, some funny wording. However, in fact, the draft law is good and creates a perspective for the creation of a legitimate activity on the exchange of crypto-currency, and what is especially interesting is to criminate the currency on preferential terms.

[eckmar]

Looking at this bill, it's good for the country but bad for the owners of crypto currencies. What will change for them are taxes. They will have to pay for percentage of everything they own in crypto world. I hope this won't pass.

[veleten]

Looking at this bill, it's good for the country but bad for the owners of crypto currencies. What will change for them are taxes. They will have to pay for percentage of everything they own in crypto world. I hope this won't pass.

once again,this is the least of concerns for both ukrainian citizens and the MP's
the newest developments in Kiev see the protests run almost the same scenario as in  2014
it all started from slogans and and a couple of hundreds of people trying to ensure the country signs the EU association treaty
it resulted in a coup d'etat and a civil war,it looks like there could be a completely new goverment very soon
the bills are not that good for the common cryptocurrency users,it will have them pay taxes and give them no preferences
knowing how business is in Ukraine,you can tel lthat nothing good will come of it,just extra money taken from the already empoverished populace

[1Referee]

What will change for them are taxes. They will have to pay for percentage of everything they own in crypto world. I hope this won't pass.

That's a pretty normal thing for the average joe. In most of the countries you have to pay tax over your crypto currencies already, so it won't change much. If I hold Bitcoin, the total value of these coins at date of declaring them will add up to my overall wealth, which requires me to pay tax. If I buy and sell for a profit, I again need to pay tax, but now over the booked gains. The crypto market has been growing on a yearly basis, where we near a point that people can't look at crypto anymore as if it is just a hobby/fun thing. I am against paying tax over my holdings, but that mainly comes from the fact that I hold Bitcoin for a reason, but I am quite sure that the regular person will very likely see it as a normal thing to pay tax.

[eckmar]

What will change for them are taxes. They will have to pay for percentage of everything they own in crypto world. I hope this won't pass.

That's a pretty normal thing for the average joe. In most of the countries you have to pay tax over your crypto currencies already, so it won't change much. If I hold Bitcoin, the total value of these coins at date of declaring them will add up to my overall wealth, which requires me to pay tax. If I buy and sell for a profit, I again need to pay tax, but now over the booked gains. The crypto market has been growing on a yearly basis, where we near a point that people can't look at crypto anymore as if it is just a hobby/fun thing. I am against paying tax over my holdings, but that mainly comes from the fact that I hold Bitcoin for a reason, but I am quite sure that the regular person will very likely see it as a normal thing to pay tax.

In countries like US yes. I guess everyone will want to pay tax. I never paid tax on any of my crypto holdings. I avoid withdrawing to my bank, instead I use localbitcoin and meet in person or btc ATM. If I wanted to pay taxes for every purchase I make I will just use Paypal or something like that.

[Coffee135]

This bill hasn't been voted yet so it's still remains uncertain whether it will pass but in general Ukraine is much more liberal than Russia as its government is not obsessed with controlling citizens in a totalitarian way - everyone who has even a little bit of power just wants to protect and increase their wealth, usually accumulated through corruption. And Bitcoin doesn't seem to be a threat to this cleptocracy, and in fact some MP's already own a big amounts of it, while many others might own it secretly - just like they do with offshore bank accounts.

Some deputies in the Ukrainian Parliament have accounts with more than 8,000 bitcoins. Maybe they come up with such liberal laws because they themselves are interested in to provide a safe haven. In any case, the laws to regulate cryptocurrencies are still not even in the queue for review so I think that their adoption will not be soon.

[richardsNY]

I avoid withdrawing to my bank, instead I use localbitcoin and meet in person or btc ATM. If I wanted to pay taxes for every purchase I make I will just use Paypal or something like that.

It doesn't really matter how you obtain and sell your coins, you are subject to paying tax anyway. Main point of importance is that people are supposed to declare everything in a honest manner, which obviously isn't something Bitcoiners are doing in large numbers. I haven't paid a single penny in tax till this day, and I definitely don't plan to do so in the future, but if exchanges at some point hand all trading information of their users to the government, we'll be up for an interesting surprise when the government 'knocks' on our doors. It may even be already the case, but we just don't know it yet -- eventually, I believe that this will be part of the regulations exchanges have to deal with.

[8270thNinja]

How can they know that the bitcoin you hold is a profit? how about it was just given or you bought it? is tax still applicable to that?. Laws and Regulation regarding cryptocurrency should be specific on how they gonna tax bitcoin.

[ApocalypseNow]

I hope Russia comes next because it is close to them. Bitcoin is really a valuable asset and it's really a good thing because I know it will influence Putin's decision positively.