Technology
Ukraine To Mull Bitcoin Regulation Later This Month
Ukraine's central bank made an important announcement late last week.
Ukraine’s central bank is set to weigh in on the regulation of
bitcoin and other crypto-currencies later this month.
The National
Bank of Ukraine (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.