Russian Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance’s adverse opinions lead to a restrictive policy instead of banning the use of cryptocurrencies.
Per the Coindesk, the Ministry of Finance purposes a bill that limits the crypto transactions tied with licensed operators in Russia, adding peer-to-peer trading as illegal, while certified wallets are allowed.
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Earlier this week, Federal Agency announced it had introduced the bill to make crypto trading and mining legal despite the Central Bank’s objections to banning cryptocurrencies altogether.
The upcoming bill presents virtual assets as electronic data and property stored in information systems. At the same time, it is known as illegal tender in Russian Federals as of time due to the fact it doesn’t reserve physical assets.
Traditional businesses operating digital currencies’ transactions would need to submit an annual report of their crypto activities alongside other restrictions. The new document, titled “On the Digital Currency,” also adds that committed felons will not be eligible to become operators. It includes individuals that have been charged with financial crimes, as the people involved in a conspiracy against a political party that happened years ago.
Notably, offshore companies will not be able to become cryptocurrency brokers.
Crypto exchanges that desire to operate trading in the country must have 100 million rubles ($1.2 million) in assets. Similarly, no less than 50 million rubbles a trader should have to be approved for trading in Russia.
Russian Residents and Operators Will Submit Annual Reports
Per the bill, crypto users will buy virtual assets from exchanges only by using Russian bank accounts. And these platforms will report their transaction history to anti-money laundering. Also, operators would be required to create a special note for the funds that came from miners.
On the other side, miners will be liable to report their income to tax departs. Cryptocurrency miners owned by Russian entities would benefit from using data centers’ facilities. Those doing mining at a broad scale would need to register themselves in a dedicated list of miners. While small “home miners” will not need to do that until they surpass a specific electricity threshold. The bill did not specify the electricity quantity.
The bill renders the most serious and comprehensive approach about cryptocurrencies’ legislation that has not been seen over the half of a decade in Russia, says Russian lawyer Mikhail Uspensky;
There is a powerful coalition in the executive branch of power against the total crypto ban. There is a dedicated working group in the government for cryptocurrency regulation in general, not just this particular bill.
Uspensky said that lawmakers have a narrow focus on regulating fiat-to-crypto on-ramps. Still, the worth noting thing is crypto mining has been discussed for the first time since he is around in discussions for regulations.
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“Creating official registers [for cryptocurrency exchanges and miners] is a normal regulatory practice in Russia,” he stated. However, it remains to pass the bill through the legislative process, and it will have changes instead of publishing the bill in its current format.
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