Ukraine | Crypto

The draft law passed its first reading with 246 votes and proposes an 18% income tax, 5% military tax, along with a temporary 5% rate on fiat conversions in its first year. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, passed the first reading of a bill to legalize and tax cryptocurrency on Wednesday, according to lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak. If signed into law, the bill would significantly shape the digital asset economy in the country, which ranks among the world's top in crypto adoption. According to Zhelezniak’s announcement on a Telegram channel, the bill passed the first reading with 246 lawmakers voting in support. The legislation's draft outlines an income tax of 18% and a military tax of 5% on digital asset profits. The bill also sets a preferential 5% tax rate on fiat conversions its first year, according to the announcement. The proposed taxation rate of 23% is in line with the April recommendation of Ukraine’s financial regulator. The initial recommendation exempted crypto-to-crypto and stablecoins t...

Discover how Ukraine peace talks could impact Bitcoin’s price in 2025. Explore three scenarios (ceasefire, shaky deal or escalation) and their effects on BTC. Peace talks can shift Bitcoin’s price through energy costs, inflation and interest rates. In 2022, Bitcoin fell sharply, then rallied 27% above pre-invasion levels within a month. Spot Bitcoin ETFs now act as a direct channel for macro sentiment. Read more

Ukraine has had some regulatory starts and stops when it comes to crypto, though momentum for a regulatory bill has picked up since 2024. Ukraine’s parliament plans to conduct the initial reading of a crypto regulation bill by late August, according to government officials. The legislation, if approved, could establish a legal framework for digital assets aligned with European standards. “The preparation of a draft law on taxation of transactions with virtual assets is currently in the final stage,” Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy, told Cointelegraph. “It is estimated that its submission for the first reading in the Verkhovna Rada is scheduled for the end of August 2025.” Read more

The Pentagon has tapped Swiss firm Auterion to supply 33,000 AI-guided drone “strike kits” to Ukraine as the battlefield continues to evolve.

AI-controlled “slaughterbot” drones likely within 12 months in Ukraine, new research suggests AI agents are 70% useless, and more: AI Eye. A few years ago, arms control groups warned of a dystopian future where swarms of AI drones called Slaughterbots would lay waste to humanity. That reality has edged closer thanks to the drone arms race between Ukraine and Russia. Each side jams the radio frequencies the other uses to remotely pilot drones, so last year they switched to drones that unspool up to 20 kilometres of fiber-optic cable behind them, allowing them to be piloted via a wired connection. Now, a Ukrainian drone startup called the Fourth Law says AI-piloted drones are likely to emerge in the next six months. They wont be tiny like in the film, but they will be lethal. When were talking about full autonomy, I think were definitely going to see singular demos by the end of this year, founder Yaroslav Azhnyuk told the Kyiv Independent. Read more