The National Securities and Stock Market Commission presented a 'taxation matrix' for the cryptocurrency market, which is proposed to be used for developing the relevant draft law. It is expected that the financial committee of the Verkhovna Rada will submit the draft law by the end of April 2025, after which it will be presented in the first reading in the parliament hall, as reported by committee chairman Daniil Getmantsev.
According to the IMF Memorandum, Ukraine has committed to develop the relevant legislative changes by the end of October 2025.
The NCCPFR matrix assumes the application of a basic tax rate of 23% for virtual assets (VA) — 18% personal income tax and 5% military tax. It also proposes two options for benefits under Article 167 of the Tax Code analogous to securities:
- 5% for income in the form of dividends on shares and corporate rights for corporate income tax payers;
- 9% for income in the form of dividends on shares or investment certificates, corporate rights, accrued to non-residents, joint investment institutions, and companies that are not corporate income tax payers.
At the same time, the document mentions that in a number of countries today, a limit is set for small investors exempt from taxation. For example, in Germany, it is €600 for short-term operations with virtual assets, and in Lithuania — €2500 for total income. It is suggested to consider similar initiatives in Ukraine.
The NCCPFR also allows for VAT to be applied to crypto, but with an exemption for bitcoin, referring to the special status of this coin in Europe after the C-264/14 Skatteverket v. Hedqvist court case. Additionally, it is proposed to exempt such activities as mining, staking (that is, creating tokens), airdrops — supply without payment, storage and transfer of cryptocurrency, their exchange and modification, from value-added tax.
The Commission's matrix talks a lot about the problems with tracking cryptocurrency operations, accurately determining profit sizes, and the many opportunities for tax minimization and evasion. Although it is suggested to attract cryptocurrency service providers (exchanges, trading platforms, etc.) for this, analogous to the European Union.
In theory, in Ukraine, cryptocurrency operations can be controlled through banks, crypto exchanges (in case of legalization), through pressure on centralized exchanges (Binance, Bybit, etc.) to share information, or by tracking analytics on the blockchain (Chainalysis, Elliptic, etc.).
But overall, as noted by the cryptocurrency market operators interviewed by 'Strana', the NCCPFR concept still looks quite raw, and options for tax evasion are already evident:
- storing assets in cold wallets or wallets not linked to exchanges (like Trust Wallet),
- cashing out through unofficial exchanges,
- using USDT/stablecoins (cryptocurrency whose rate is tied to ordinary currency or assets — say, the dollar or gold) instead of withdrawing to real money (dollars, hryvnias, etc.),
- operations through legal entities or third countries (for example, Estonia, UAE, Turkey).
All of this can be done in the absence of strict control, which is still not in place.
Especially if using hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor), that is, a special flash drive, carrying them around, and cashing out through unofficial exchanges. In such a format, no one will be able to track crypto due to the lack of connection with banks, exchanges, and without passing through Ukrainian payment systems.
It is possible that the state will try to strengthen control over the crypto market in the future to obtain information, but at this stage, it is still a long way off.
