Methodology of Using Virtual Assets as Means of Payment at the Fiat Level: Problematic Issues in Ukraine

The FinTech sector, as one of the dynamic parts of Ukraine's economic frontier, has not only withstood the challenges of one of the most difficult times of independence, but has also continued to develop despite all the difficulties of the difficult time, and often despite it. The purpose of the article is to study the legal framework and methodology for the use of virtual assets as a means of payment in Ukraine before and after the entry into force of the cryptocurrency- specific Law No. 2074. Methodology. Both general scientific and special legal research methods were used to achieve the purpose of the study. The scientific novelty is an attempt to provide a legal assessment of the existing methodology for conducting increasingly popular transactions with virtual assets through the acquiring mechanism, against the background of an almost non-existent legal framework for their regulation. Conclusions. In fact, there is a paradigm in Ukraine regarding the recognition of virtual assets as means of payment. On the one hand, formally, at the legislative level, there are no plans to recognize virtual assets as a means of payment after the entry into force of Law 2074. On the other hand, from a practical point of view, before the entry into force of Law 2074, virtual assets are increasingly accepted as a means of payment in Ukraine. Prior to the entry into force of Law 2074, banks and cryptocurrency exchanges must act as tax agents in acquiring transactions for the purpose of payment for services and goods. Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine for the entry into force of Law 2074 do not provide for withholding tax when paying income to an individual from transactions with virtual assets. This will not contribute to the timely and full payment of taxes to the budget. The widespread use of cryptocurrencies directly in payments for goods and services in Ukraine, without official acquiring operations, before the entry into force of Law 2074 may have certain negative tax consequences for business entities.