It will soon be possible to pay for goods and services with virtual assets that anyone can issue for anything.
Against the background of the growth of the most famous cryptocurrency in the world to record levels, people's deputies dared to legalize virtual assets in Ukraine. Parliament passed the law of the same name in the first reading last week.
The document not only brings out of the shadows the market, the daily volume of which is 200 million dollars, but also creates opportunities for trading in the virtual world of all existing assets in Ukraine. And even more.
If the law is finally adopted, it will be possible to sell a "digitized" apartment, bonus points of a grocery supermarket chain, or currency in a computer game with one click. Everything is legal.
How did it all begin?!
Until 2020, the legalization of cryptocurrencies was talked about only from the point of view of controlling the multi-million shadow market.
Timur Khromayev, head of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NCSCFR), stated as early as 2017 that the regulation of this market must be divided between the commission headed by him and the National Bank.
The concept of virtual assets appeared in the legal field only at the end of 2019. In order to prevent and counteract the legalization (laundering) of proceeds of crime, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, it was enshrined in the relevant law.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation became the market regulator. He was entrusted with the functions of control and supervision of the circulation of virtual assets and service providers (crypto-exchangers and crypto-exchanges).
However, this did not create a breakthrough in the development of the industry. Despite the fact that about 60 projects dealing with cryptocurrencies are operating in Ukraine. In order to correct the situation, the Ministry of Finance together with specialized associations developed a draft law "On Virtual Assets". In the fall, it was registered by 36 deputies from the inter-factional association Blockchain4Ukraine, headed by Oleksiy Zhmerenetsky. Possibilities opened by the law
The law allows the transfer of all real assets into virtual assets. It is proposed to divide them according to the principle of security and non-security.
The first will include virtual assets, which give the right to its owner to take ownership of objects of civil rights. It can be real estate, land, bank deposits, securities and other property.
On December 2, deputies adopted the law in the first reading.
"Experts estimate the volume of transactions in Ukraine with virtual assets at 150-200 million dollars per day, and the capitalization of virtual assets exceeds 2 billion dollars. Unfortunately, the industry is still in the shadows," Zhmerenetskyi said during a speech in parliament.
Possibilities opened by the law.
The law allows the transfer of all real assets into virtual assets. It is proposed to divide them according to the principle of security and non-security.
The first will include virtual assets that entitle its owner to acquire civil rights objects. It can be real estate, land, bank deposits, securities and other property.
"For example, I want to issue a token secured by my apartment. I go to a notary and draw up a public offer for some contract or some receipt. We do not regulate the form. The public offer indicates the number of the property right document from the real estate registry, the type of blockchain on which issued token and node number," the author says draft law.
A node (from the Latin nodus - a node) is any computer that is part of the blockchain network. A node, depending on its type, stores only part or all of the blockchain data.
"The offer also states that the owner of the token has the right to request the re-registration of this real estate. Then, for example, I transfer this token to another person, and this person becomes the new owner of this token. Now he can request the re-registration of his apartment in accordance with public offer.
If the owner of the apartment refuses to reregister the real estate, then the owner of the token can go to court and force the Ministry of Justice or the state registrar to make changes to the State Register of Real Property Rights. He is the new owner of the token, and the asset with which the token is secured must go to him," adds Zhmerenetskyi.
Agreements on the purchase and sale of an apartment can be concluded in the mobile application online, and only then complete all legal procedures. That is, the advantage of tokenization is the facilitation and acceleration of transactions.
The Ministry of Statistics will control this market, but there is an exception. If the security of the virtual asset is a financial instrument (shares, bonds, investment certificates), then the issuance of such tokens and their circulation will be carried out jointly with the NKCPFR.
The company will be able to issue tokens backed by its own shares and enter the ICO (Initial coin offering - initial offer of tokens - a form of attracting investments in technological projects and startups. - EP). The startup will be able to raise funds for product development - issue tokens secured by ownership obligations for the future product.
Unsecured virtual assets open opportunities that did not exist before.
"We are talking about all the assets in online computer games - all kinds of magic, swords, armor, armor," explains the co-author of the document. "These are also bonuses of gas station or grocery store networks. Such bonuses are subject to the draft law on virtual assets and are considered virtual assets Owners of bonuses can sell and buy them."
All this is on legal grounds.
The document provides that the provision of storage services, administration of virtual assets and their keys (access to the virtual wallet will be carried out using special keys. - EP), exchange, transfer, sale or their release will be carried out by business entities.
The Ministry of Digital will enter all service providers into the relevant state register.
Virtual assets will not compete with the hryvnia and will not be a means of payment, but customers will be able to pay for goods or services with a virtual asset, and the bank will convert the asset and transfer the hryvnia equivalent to the recipient.
A chance to attract investment.
Artem Afyan, managing partner of the Juscutum law firm, said that several companies from the international digital currency market, including Binance, have already announced their intention to enter the Ukrainian market after the final adoption of the law.
"The draft law will allow us to attract a certain amount of investment," Afyan is confident. "This can turn into another growth point for the economy. We have few such growth points, so we should not neglect them."