Ukraine To Mull Bitcoin Regulation Later This Month

Josh O'Neill

16 August 2017

Ukraine’s central bank is set to weigh in on the regulation of bitcoin and other crypto-currencies later this month.

The (NBoU) will “develop a common position on the legal status of bitcoin and its regulation” at the next meeting of the Financial Stability Board, scheduled for near the end of August, the bank said in a statement.

“Currently, bitcoin does not have a definite legal status in Ukraine,” NBoU said, adding that the ambiguity of the crypto-currency’s legal status and a lacking “consolidated approach” complicates bitcoin’s status.

Bitcoin was born in 2009 out of distrust for big banks and an incline for deregulation and decentralisation.

Since its inception, when a single bitcoin would have set you back just a few cents, bitcoin has gathered unprecedented momentum.

This time last year, one bitcoin cost around $570, according to CoinDesk.com. At the time of writing, bitcoin closed at $4,132.60 (14:01pm, 15/08/2017), after tumbling from a record-high of $4,483. That's a growth rate of more than 600 per cent over the course of a year – scale unrivalled by the vast majority of asset classes.

But the volatility of bitcoin, which currently has a market cap of $68 billion, gives some investors cold feet.

Prior to closing yesterday, bitcoin logged lows of $4,010.08 and highs of $4,483.55, highlighting how turbulent the market can be.