Ukraine has legalised cryptocurrencies amid soaring tensions with Russia even as many top officials of central banks across the world and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva expressed their reservations over the penetration of unbacked virtual currencies.
Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorovon, in a Twitter post, on Thursday said the country’s Parliament has adopted a law on virtual assets, which will legalise cryptocurrencies. Fedorovon also said that this step will protect the assets of Ukrainians from possible abuse or fraud.
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“Ukraine is already in top-5 countries on cryptocurrency usage. Today we made one more step forward: Parliament adopted law on virtual assets! This will legalize crypto exchangers and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud,” Fedorovon tweeted.
Ukraine is already in top-5 countries on cryptocurrency usage. Today we made one more step forward: Parliament adopted law on virtual assets! This will legalize crypto exchangers and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 17, 2022
According to a report, published by blockchain researcher Elliptic, Bitcoin donations have soared to Ukrainian volunteer and hacking groups, which back the Ukraine government, as fears of an attack by Russian troops grow.
The report said that donors are paying through Bitcoin to such NGOs, bypassing banks and financial institutions that might block funds.
Georgieva on Tuesday said unbacked cryptocurrencies will be no match for prudently designed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Making a strong case for banning cryptocurrencies, RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar on Monday said they are even worse than Ponzi schemes and threaten the financial sovereignty of a country. Earlier, Bank of England executive director for financial stability Sarah Breeden also urged firms to be ‘cautious’ about crypto.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest virtual currency in terms of market capitalisation, lost more than 8 percent to remain at just above $40,000, down about $3,700 from its previous close, in the past 24 hours.
Other cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Solana, Litcoin, XRP, Polygon, Terra, Stellar, Avalanche, Chainlink, Cardano, Internet Computer, and Cosmos were also lost heavily in the past 24 hours.
(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)
First Published: IST
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