A government official stated crypto assets are not currencies, but more similar to stocks or bonds. This decision comes after an initial announcement regarding regulation of crypto trading.

Ukrainian Government Wants to Allow Its Citizens to Invest in Crypto Assets

Timur Khromaev, chairman of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market (NCSSMF), recently spoke about the country’s ruling regarding cryptocurrencies. Like other European countries, such as Malta, Gibraltar, and Switzerland, Ukraine plans on regulating the digital assets very soon.

According to a rough translation, Khromaev said,

“Crypto units are, most likely, financial instruments, they are not a means of payment. They are a means of accounting and accumulation. It is more like a stock, a bond, a bill. We plan to legally recognize the cryptology as a financial asset and allow people to invest and use these financial instruments.”

Government is Working Together With Crypto Experts to Draft a Bill

While Ukraine’s approach may appear surprising, given how other nations are dealing with it, the country is not the first to compare digital assets to stocks. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are an example of it — instead of selling shares of their companies, management teams are selling tokens.

Khromaev went on to add,

“We must determine the principles that we will follow to ensure the quality of the changes that we need to introduce in the legislation for the development of this sector. It is necessary to create conditions for the economic development of this activity, to introduce tax conditions, supervisory functions, etc. Now the Commission together with people’s deputies and crypto society is drafting a bill that we would like to be considered in this or next year in the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament).”

Ukraine first announced its plans to issue regulation for crypto assets back in 2015. The initial idea was to regulate cryptocurrency trading and ICO campaigns. At the time, Khromaev spoke about issuing licenses to individuals dealing with digital currencies, and mandatory disclosure of information. However, at the moment, it seems Ukraine’s focus has shifted towards a different goal.

Remember folks, Crypto is comin!

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