Russia considers passing the bill on digital assets

Digital assets, including crypto-currencies are problematic Controversy within the Russian governmentwhen the Central Bank requested to ban all activities in this field, while the Ministry of Finance of this country was determined to build a legal corridor for strict management as a form of investment.

The conflict in opinion about cryptocurrencies of Russian officials has lasted for the past 2 months, until now, the answer to the controversy has not been revealed. Accordingly, the Russian Ministry of Finance has submitted a very detailed bill on digital assets.

How tight is Russia’s digital asset bill?

In the digital assets bill, the Russian Ministry of Finance outlined a series of requirements for identification, accounting and certifications that investors in the field need to complete. At the same time, the bill also allows to treat crypto-currency as a means of payment, but not as a currency of Russia.

The bill allows payments in cryptocurrency, but does not consider it a legal currency reuters

To operate, crypto-currency exchanges must have a capital of at least 30 million rubles (about 366,000 USD). In addition, only units with a capital of not less than 1.2 million USD are allowed to hold auctions electronic money encode. Organizations and units have the duty to report all activities annually, and at the same time must pass the requirements of internal control and audit.

The bill also stipulates only the enterprise based in Russia can apply for the role of a digital asset operator. This means that foreign organizations and businesses will have to establish subsidiaries under a license to operate in Russia.

For the “miners”, the bill would require an application to be submitted to a relevant organization and the government would provide the necessary data centers. At the same time, tax will be applied a separate mechanism.

The draft law also looks in detail at the cryptocurrency mining process that legal entities carry out once registered.

What causes Russia to move closer to digital assets?

As mentioned above, Russian officials have been at odds over cryptocurrencies and related types of digital assets. However, it seems that the Russian government has gradually been convinced by the country’s Ministry of Finance.

Back on March 24, Pavel Zavalny, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Energy said that they are ready to be more flexible in their oil and gas payment options for “friendly” countries like China or Turkey. Mr. Zavalny revealed that Russia considers accepting these buyers to pay in their fiat currency, or in cash. Bitcoin.

In other words, cryptocurrency, with its anonymity and decentralization, is a great tool for Russia to “evade” economic sanctions and maintain stable foreign trade activities.

Although the digital assets bill has been completed by the Russian Ministry of Finance, its approval has not yet been given a specific time.