On April 24, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported the updated bill on virtual assets, developed by several agencies, including the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NCSRC), the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the National Bank of Ukraine, and others. The document differs significantly from the initial version, particularly regarding taxation and cryptocurrency regulation.
This is reported by Business • Media
Changes in the Regulatory Sphere and the NCSRC’s Position
According to representatives of the NCSRC, the new version of the bill includes about 30% of changes that are of fundamental importance. The regulator’s advisor, Vita Forsyuk, noted that the document has revised provisions on taxation: proposals for exempting individuals’ income from mining and staking from taxation have been considered, and a non-tax limit has been introduced. Additionally, with the participation of the State Financial Monitoring Service, the norms regarding financial monitoring of virtual asset transfers have been refined in accordance with the EU’s Travel Rule requirements.
“The bill excludes the mention of the NCSRC as the regulator — it has been replaced with the wording ‘an authority to be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers in agreement with the National Bank.’ It also provides for the possibility of automatic authorization of service providers and public offerings of virtual assets in certain cases, which significantly increases the risk of individuals with Russian citizenship or financial institutions supporting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine entering the market,” said Vita Forsyuk.
Regulators’ Position on Future Regulation of the Crypto Industry
NCSRC Chairman Ruslan Magomedov emphasized the need for additional changes. He proposes to abandon automatic authorization for foreign providers, even from jurisdictions deemed “reliable,” and replace it with a simplified verification mechanism to prevent individuals with Russian citizenship or ties to Russia from entering the market.
Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak previously stated that the text of the bill could undergo significant changes during the second reading in the Verkhovna Rada. He also emphasized that the issue of appointing a regulator for the crypto asset market is politicized. The Chairman of the Committee on Finance, Taxation, and Customs Policy, Danilo Hetmantsev, has expressed opposition to appointing the NCSRC as the regulator due to doubts about its institutional capabilities.
According to representatives of the regulators, in line with international practice, the regulation of virtual assets should be handled by the authority responsible for the capital market, which complies with IOSCO principles, membership in which is a requirement of the International Monetary Fund for Ukraine. At the same time, granting the National Bank powers in the cryptocurrency sphere could lead to regulatory conflict.