The Russian Ministry of Finance has proposed the adoption of two pieces of legislation aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies. The drafts will be presented for public discussions expected to continue until March 18. Media reports have revealed that Bank of Russia has been working on alternative bills.
Russian Finance Ministry to Open Consultations on New Crypto Legislation
The Russian Ministry of Finance has started drafting two new bills aimed at comprehensively regulating cryptocurrencies and related activities in the country. The Treasury Department is proposing a new law “On Digital Currency” and a bill to amend other legislative acts in connection with it.
According to the Russian federal portal for draft regulatory acts, the texts are yet to be published. Then consultations will commence and continue until March 18, the business news outlet RBC reported. The announcement comes after earlier this month the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia were tasked with preparing new crypto legislation by Feb. 18.
The two institutions are at odds over the future of cryptocurrencies in Russia, with the CBR proposing to ban a wide range of coin operations, including issuing, trading and mining, while Minfin lobbied for legalization under strict rules. The federal government has approved a regulatory plan for the crypto space based on the Treasury concept.
Meanwhile, media reports have unveiled that Bank of Russia has prepared its own legislative proposals tailored to prevent the issuance, circulation, and use in payments of “private digital currency” in the Russian Federation. According to RIA Novosti, the regulator insists on imposing fines of up to 1 million rubles ($13,000) for violations of these restrictions.
Tass, which claims to have the documents, quotes a financial industry source who told the news agency that the central bank bills were provided to the finance ministry. In an explanatory note, the monetary authority specifies that the sanctions should be imposed on the entities and individuals involved in the prohibited operations.
The regulator also wants to ban the dissemination of information about this type of currency and any of the listed activities. The CBR further suggests that banks, other financial institutions and entities operating within Russia’s national payment system should be prohibited from holding cryptocurrencies under threat of administrative action, while crypto-related transfers on behalf of persons should be rejected.
The Bank of Russia’s proposals reflect its hardline stance on cryptocurrencies, which has isolated it among government institutions in Russia, most of which favor regulation over prohibition. They come after the launch of the pilot phase of its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) project. The prototype of its platform was completed in December, and the CBR announced this week that it had successfully carried out the first transactions between digital wallets in rubles with the help of commercial banks participating in the trials.
