The MED initiates the legalization of cryptocurrencies

Legalization of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine: the Ministry of Economic Development initiates the adoption of the Concept of State Policy in the Field of Virtual Assets.
The purpose of the Concept is to create understandable conditions for conducting activities in the field of virtual assets and virtual currencies (cryptocurrency).
Now, in Ukraine, there are legal doubts regarding activities related to cryptocurrency, including their legal status, taxation of transactions with them, the possibility of concluding smart contracts (a contract that is concluded uses a special computer algorithm and is carried out in automatic mode).
As a result, the market of virtual currencies largely develops in the shadow, which leads to negative consequences for all interested parties: the lack of adequate protection of the rights and interests of cryptocurrency consumers, the complexity of virtual currency market participants in the legal classification of their activities, use of banking services, attraction of foreign investment, holding an ICO / ITO (a form of raising capital in the form of token emission, which in turn provides for the commitment of the organizer ICO / ITO direct the capital received for the realization of the stated objectives on the conditions determined by it) as Ukrainian companies.
At the legislative level the concept proposes, the definition of key terms related to virtual assets, such as “virtual currency” (“cryptocurrency”), “virtual assets”, “ICO / ITO”, “mining”, “smart contract”, “token”. The implementation of the Concept is foreseen for the period up to 2021 in two stages.
At the first stage in 2018 – 2019, the definition of the legal status of cryptocurrency is provided; recognition of business entities that provide cryptocurrency exchange services for fiat currencies (traditional currencies) and vice versa; monitoring and analysis of problems and trends in the market of virtual assets and virtual currencies in order to develop proposals for improving regulatory policies.
At the second stage, in 2020–2021, the purse providers of virtual currencies (persons providing services to protect private cryptographic keys on behalf of their clients, for storing and transferring virtual currencies) are recognized as subjects of primary financial monitoring; development of special legislation to regulate the use of virtual assets, smart contracts and tokens (digital accounting unit within a distributed register of records in the form of data with cryptographic protection, which can be used to certify the existence of rights to objects of civil law and obligations) / ITO.
The implementation of the Concept will also allow harmonizing the legislation of Ukraine in the field of cryptocurrency with the EU legislation.