The Ukrainian legislature does not seem in a hurry to adopt a new law for crypto, but the executive branch in Kiev has taken matters into their own hands.
In a meeting on Thursday, the Minister of Economic Development, Stepan Kubiev, ordered other departments and agencies to do what is necessary to include the mining cryptocurrency in the state classifier of economic activities.
The ministries of economy, finance, justice, energy, the agency responsible for e-government and the Ukrainian statistical service must prepare a draft document to amend the register. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the Security Service (SBU) have also been invited to participate. Kubiev was quoted in a press release saying:
"By adding the sector of criptominería to the classifier, we will remove it from the underground economy and we will collect more budget revenues"
The Minister of Economic Development pointed out that the legalization of the mining industry can reduce the output of qualified IT professionals from Ukraine. Stepan Kubiev believes that the measure will also relieve pressure on the crypto community in the country.
"La Rada" lags behind the government
The initiative of the Ministry of Economy is not the first attempt to legalize an activity related to cryptography in the country.
The cryptocurrencies were discussed during a cybersecurity meeting in January. The National Security Council established a working group in charge of finalizing regulations regarding the circulation of digital currencies and the imposition of encrypted transactions.
The Cyberpolice unit in Ukraine has also asked government institutions to legalize cryptocurrencies or prohibit them. The country's justice minister, Pavel Petrenko, has declared that crypts, such as Bitcoin, should be included in the legal field. The State Financial Monitoring Service has already announced its official position on cryptocurrencies.
The Ukrainian parliament, however, has not made any significant progress towards the adoption of the necessary legal framework. Three drafts have been submitted at the Verkhovna Rada since October. The first invoice defines the cryptocurrency as a property that can be exchanged for goods and services.
The second bill establishes that cryptocurrencies are financial assets. A third supplementary bill modifies the tax code to introduce tax exemptions for profits and revenues from cryptocommerce and mining. Some reports in February suggested that Ukrainian lawmakers can separate crypto-contracting and cryptocurrencies in new legislation.
According to the most recent information on the website of the Ukrainian legislature, the Minister of Finance, Olexandr Danilyuk, was expected to discuss bills on the circulation and encouragement of cryptocurrencies with members of the Finance and Banking Committee. The announcement of the hearing was published on February 7, however, no details were given after that.
