An amendment to anti-corruption laws will see Ukrainian nationals having to report to the state how much cryptocurrency they hold. The new law, which will come into force from January 1, 2020, also requires citizens to disclose how much cryptocurrency is owned by the entire family, including minors, despite there being no legal definition in the country of what a cryptocurrency actually is.
Check the Kids’ Piggy Banks for Crypto
Ukraine’s Corruption Prevention Law was introduced in 2009 in order to crack down on both internal and external corruption in the country, and was adopted in 2014. A tightening of the laws surrounding cryptocurrencies was put forward in September, and it seems it is now about to get rubber stamped. Cryptocurrency itself has not been singled out in the amendments, rather it has been subsumed into the category of stored wealth, meaning holders are subject to a host of reporting requirements, including declaring their cryptocurrency holdings as well as those of all family members, even those no longer living with them. The reason for the clampdown is to try and protect the country against the use of cryptocurrency for financial crimes and comes at a time when the economy of the country is under great strain.
Lack of Clarity Causes Concern
Concerns over the new laws could be eased thanks to Binance, who last week announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation to “jointly cooperate on forming a position in establishing the potential legal status of virtual assets and currencies in the country.” Not only would such an outcome be welcome it is now essential, given that the country’s citizens will soon be legally required to report how much they hold. The situation is not too dissimilar in the US, at least in theory, where investors are asked to report their transactions for tax purposes without being given clear guidance on how to calculate them. Ukraine’s crypto lovers can therefore only hope that the definition is clarified before they are due to report their holdings.
