Last October, Russian President Vladimir Putin made headlines once he declared that he could accept crypto as payment in future transactions.
It seems that the leader was faithful to his word as the Russian government published a Tuesday statement announcing that it had concluded an agreement with his central bank on how to regulate crypto currencies.
The 2 are working together on a bill, which will pass on February 18, that will see cryptocurrencies move beyond being a digital financial asset to become a viable currency.
Russian future of crypto currencies
“The government has determined future of digital currencies in Russia. The turnover of these financial assets will be regulated by state with strict obligations for all professional in market participants & an emphasis on protecting the rights of ordinary investors,” the government said in its statement. .
Currently, cryptocurrencies in Russia need full identification through the banking system or authorized intermediaries in order to operate legally. Bitcoin transactions are not banned in the Russian nation; However, they must be executed through a universal licensed bank or peer-to-peer exchange licensed in the country.
A move different from previous
In accordance with the new law, crypto transactions of more than 600,000 rubles ($ 8,000) should be officially reported to federal taxation service to avoid being treated as a criminal offense. In the past, Russian Federation has been quite adept at tracking & countering illegal cryptocurrency mining, and the country’s central bank has even called for a ban on cryptocurrency mining & trading.
However, the new law was approved by Bank of Russia, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Federal Taxation Agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service, the prosecutor General Office & anti money laundering watchdog Rosfinmonitoring. According to the Russian Komternant newspaper, the new measures will see crypto regulated same as like foreign currencies and will come in-to effect in second half of 2022 or early 2023.
