Cryptocurrency exchanges in Ukraine accused of underpaying more than $ 80 million in taxes

Ukrainian crypto exchanges have underpaid at least ₴3 billion (over $ 80 million) in taxes to the state treasury. This was reported by the press center of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES).

According to the financial agency, trading platforms created by Ukrainian citizens have earned $ 55 billion since 2013. At the same time, the figure announced by the BES only covers transactions with BTC, ETH, and USDT. It is unclear how the trading volume was calculated.

The BES claims that it calculated the shortfall based on the average percentage of commission on exchanges, which amounted to 0.8% of the turnover. The financial intelligence agency said that over the past ten years, crypto exchanges have earned $ 445.5 million in commissions, but they still do not pay tax deductions to the country’s budget because «there is no regulatory framework.»

«There are different views on how these transactions should be taxed, and the BES will act in accordance with the provisions adopted by the deputies. But it is obvious that while the issue is being delayed, the state continues to lose tens of millions [доларів] in taxes every month. In addition, cryptocurrency transactions can be used to circumvent sanctions, withdraw funds abroad, engage in illegal gambling and commit criminal offenses,» said BES Deputy Director Andriy Pashchuk.

Members of the local cryptocurrency community are surprised by the BES’s statements. Users are puzzled by the tax approach the government intends to take in the face of a market slump.

The BES statement came just two days after the media learned about the inspection of crypto exchanges by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). The NBU’s inspection was also confirmed by the founder of Kuna, Mikhail Chobanyan. It turned out that the National Bank of Ukraine was interested in the financial statements of several local crypto companies: Kuna, CoinPay, GEO Pay, and Qmall. It is still unclear why the NBU’s sudden inspection was carried out.

We would like to add that since March 2023, the Ukrainian cryptocurrency market has been practically frozen. Ukrainian banks have stopped processing requests to withdraw cryptocurrency into hryvnia and vice versa, citing technical difficulties. Against this background, Kuna has already announced that it will shift its business focus from Ukraine to Europe.