More than 2.1 thousand declarations with cryptocurrencies were filed by Ukrainian officials in 2024. This is 2.2 times more than before the full-scale campaign. Representatives of the National Police of Ukraine are particularly active in declaring cryptocurrencies. Tether (USDT), Bitcoin (BTC, XBT), and Ethereum (ETH) remain the most popular cryptocurrencies among officials.
Ukrainian officials are increasingly mentioning cryptocurrencies in their declarations. Thus, 2113 declarations with cryptocurrency were filed by officials in 2024. This is 2.2 times more than before the full-scale campaign. The number of such declarations increased by 10% over the year.
Representatives of law enforcement agencies are particularly active in declaring cryptocurrencies. The National Police of Ukraine is the most active: 322 declarations mentioning cryptocurrency. This is 15% of all such declarants.
The prosecutor’s office is not far behind: cryptocurrency is listed in 240 declarations. Judges filed 227 such documents, and there were 119 officials with digital assets in city councils. Among the representatives of the Armed Forces, cryptocurrency was listed in 77 declarations. In another 38 cases, crypto was declared by NABU representatives.
If we look at the geography of crypto declarations, everything is more predictable. Kyiv and the region are in the lead with 582 and 185 officials with cryptocurrencies. In Kharkiv region, 172 civil servants declared crypto, and in Dnipropetrovs’k region, 167. Lviv region rounds out the top five with 133 cryptocurrency declarants.
The most frequently declared crypto-dollars are Tether (USDT) – 802 civil servants. Bitcoin (BTC, XBT), despite all the exchange rate fluctuations, consistently ranks second with 731 declarations. Ethereum (ETH) was declared by 713 officials.
The most bitcoins were declared by Oleh Bondarenko, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy. He has 80 BTC on his account, which is equal to UAH 279.4 million as of April 1. The leader in the Ethereum (ETH) category is MP Serhiy Maisel, who owns 200 tokens equivalent to UAH 15.5 million. However, the record for the number of crypto dollars belongs to Vitaliy Brovko, head of a department at the Prosecutor General’s Office, who has 847,908 USDT in his declaration, which is estimated at UAH 35 million.
It is also worth noting that there are several ex-officials who could have made it to the top, but indicated that they had lost access to their crypto assets. 380.95 bitcoins – a record amount among Ukrainian officials – were reported and lost in 2021 by Roman Saramaga, Deputy Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine. This is about UAH 1.33 billion in hryvnia equivalent as of April 1, 2025.
The largest amount of ethereum – 1,800 units or more than UAH 140 million as of April 1 of this year – belongs to Ihor Osipov, a deputy of the Podil District Council of Odesa Oblast. However, in last year’s declaration, the official noted that he had lost access to his assets.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/crypto-2025
Cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming part of the global financial system, and countries in the Balkan region are demonstrating a variety of approaches to their regulation.
Serbia
Status: Officially recognized and regulated.
Legislation: Law on Digital Assets (2020).
Regulators: The National Bank of Serbia and the Securities Commission.
Taxes:
Capital gains tax: 15%.
Income tax: 15%.
Penalties: Up to 5 million dinars ($46,400) or 20% of annual income for operating without a license.
Croatia
Status: Not recognized as legal tender, but not prohibited.
Regulation: There is no special law, operations are regulated by general rules.
Taxes: Income from cryptocurrencies is subject to capital gains tax.
Albania
Status: Regulated by law (2020).
Regulators: Financial Supervision Authority and National Agency for Information Society.
Taxes:
Capital gains tax: 15%.
Corporate tax: 15%.
Sanctions: Administrative fines and restrictions on activities.
Status: There is no special legislation, operations with cryptocurrencies are not prohibited.
Warnings: The central bank notes the risks associated with cryptocurrencies.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Status: Not legal tender, no exchange for official currency is possible.
Taxes: The tax on income from transactions is 10%.
Regulation: There is no legislation, but trading and buying cryptocurrencies is allowed.
Republika Srpska (part of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Status: Cryptocurrencies are legalized (amendments to the law on the securities market, 2022).
Supervision: Securities Commission.
Taxes: Income tax is 10%.
North Macedonia
Status: Not recognized as legal tender.
Regulation: There is no regulation, cryptocurrency activities are not prohibited.
Kosovo
Status: Not recognized as legal tender, no special legislation.
Restrictions: A complete ban on mining has been introduced since 2022 due to the energy crisis.
Approaches to cryptocurrencies in the Balkans vary:
Serbia and Albania establish a clear legal framework, ensuring the legality of operations.
Montenegro and North Macedonia have no special regulation, but do not prohibit its use.
Kosovo restricts activities due to the energy crisis.
It is important for potential users and investors to study local laws and consult with experts to work safely and legally with cryptocurrencies in the region.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/434
The administration of the new US President Donald Trump is taking the first steps to change the regulation of the cryptocurrency market. During his election campaign, Trump promised to create a more friendly environment for crypto assets.
Mark Ueda, the acting chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced the creation of a working group to “develop a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.”
“The task force will help the SEC define clear regulatory boundaries, propose realistic pathways for registration, develop reasonable disclosure schemes, and prudently allocate resources for enforcement,” the regulator said in a statement.
Ueda is acting as SEC chairman temporarily while Trump’s nominee, lawyer Paul Atkins, awaits confirmation by the Senate.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank, Brian Mefford and Maxim Urakin, released a video analysis of what changes await US domestic and foreign policy under Trump, the video is available on the Experts Club YouTube channel – https://youtu.be/W2elNY1xczM?si=MM-QjSqGce4Tlq6T
US President-elect Donald Trump has launched his own cryptocurrency, the market capitalization of which quickly soared to several billion dollars, the BBC reported on Sunday.
“Trump is launching $Trump meme coin as he prepares to take office as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, January 20. The venture is being coordinated by CIC Digital LLC, a subsidiary of the Trump Organization, which previously sold Trump-branded shoes and perfumes,” the BBC said.
It is noted that meme coins are used to increase the popularity of a viral Internet trend or movement, but they have no intrinsic value and are extremely volatile investments.
According to CoinMarketCap.com, by noon on Saturday, a few hours after the launch, $Trump had reached almost $5.5 billion.
CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight Fight LLC, founded in Delaware earlier this month, own 80% of the tokens. However, it is unclear how much money Trump can make from this venture.
“My new official Trump meme is here! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: victory,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social page, announcing the meme coins on the evening of January 17.
About 200 million digital tokens have already been issued, and another 800 million will be issued over the next three years, according to the cryptocurrency’s website. “This Trump meme honors a leader who doesn’t back down despite adversity,” the site says.
The BBC report also states that “the message also contains a disclaimer that the coin is ‘not intended to be the target’ of an investment opportunity or security, and ‘is not political’ and ”has no connection to any political campaign, political office or government agency.”
Such digital tokens are notorious for speculators using the hype to drive up the value before selling at the top of the market, leaving latecomers to count their losses as the price plummets. However, cryptocurrency investors are hopeful that the Trump administration will promote the industry.
President Joe Biden’s regulators have expressed concerns about fraud and money laundering as they cracked down on crypto companies by suing these exchanges.
In the past, Trump has not shown much favor for cryptocurrencies, but last year at a bitcoin conference in Nashville, he said that America would become the “crypto capital of the planet” when he returned to Washington.
His sons Eric and Donald Jr. announced their own cryptocurrency venture last year.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) remained unchanged due to the event and surpassed the $68,000 mark for the first time since late July.
Italian Deputy Finance Minister Maurizio LEO said the government will raise taxes on capital gains in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin from 26% to 42%, Reuters and Bloomberg reported.
According to Bloomberg, the Italian cabinet made the decision because “this phenomenon is spreading,” the LEO said of Bitcoin during a conference call on Wednesday.
The move comes in the wake of Italy’s decision to strengthen its tax on digital services as part of plans to boost revenue in its 2025 budget.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) was unchanged, posting a weekly gain of more than 12%, surpassing the $68,000 mark for the first time since late July.
Hackers stole more than twice as much cryptocurrency in the first half of 2024 as they did a year earlier, according to a report by analytics firm TRM Labs.
The size of thefts in January-June amounted to $1.38 billion compared to $657 million in the same period last year.
As a year earlier, the bulk of the volume was stolen in a small number of attacks. Five hacks allowed hackers to steal 70% of the total semiannual volume.
The largest of these was the hack of Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin, in which attackers stole more than $300 million worth of bitcoins.
That said, there were no fundamental changes in the security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem that could have contributed to the increase in thefts, TRM notes. The number of attacks has also not changed significantly over the year.
However, the average value of cryptocurrencies rose in the first half of the year, which may have affected the dollar valuation of thefts.
