Ukraine has announced plans to adopt the newly passed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations barely a day after approval by the European Union Parliament.
Being lauded as the first major comprehensive crypto regulatory framework in the world, the introduction of MiCA represents a significant step in integrating crypto assets with the world’s financial system.
Ukrainian Authorities Embrace MiCA Regulations
While Speaking on a Telegram channel on April 20, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the deputy chairman of the Tax Committee of Ukraine, expressed the intentions of the Eastern European nation to adopt the recently introduced MiCA regulations.
While applauding the EU for being the first region in the world with a systemic legislative crypto framework, Yaroslav said
“Well, my colleagues and I from the NKCPFR (National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market) and other regulators are already working on the implementation of part of the MiCA provisions so that crypto-assets are legal in Ukraine as well.”
Ukraine has to manually implement these regulations as it is only considered a candidate state of the European Union following its membership application in February 2022.
Shedding more light on Ukraine’s plan for the MiCA regulations, Yuriy Boyko, a member of the NKCPFR, via an official post on the commission’s website said,
“This is a truly historic event, I am sure Ukraine will be one of the first countries to implement this regulation into national legislation. At the moment, the text of the draft law is almost ready, and soon, we will start discussions with the main stakeholders”.
Significance of the MiCA Regulations
Generally, the Market in Crypto Assets regulation is considered a major development in the crypto industry as it represents a uniform legislative framework for crypto operations within the European Union.
Although these regulations are still subject to approval by the European Union Council, the impressive show of support with over 500 votes from the 705-man EU Parliament provides much optimism ahead of this final hurdle.
Following legitimization by the EU Council, the MiCA regulations are expected to come into effect as early as 2024, eliminating the need for crypto businesses operating across the European Union to comply with 27 different regulatory frameworks.
Cryptocurrency in Ukraine
Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in early 2022, crypto assets have been a major source of war support for the Ukrainian people.
According to a report by Elliptic, a blockchain analytics company, Ukraine received a staggering amount of $212.1 million in crypto aid between February 2022 – February 2023.
By aligning with the EU’s new crypto policies, Ukraine shows its commitment to becoming a member state of the union in the near future.
However, more importantly, the MiCA regulations would also spur the growth of the crypto space in Ukraine, which in recent times has been quite vital to the survival of the Eastern European nation.