The Russian Ministry of Justice has taken side in what looks equivalent to a lively debate about the status of cryptocurrencies that are still unregulated in the nation. A bankruptcy case involving a modest amount of bitcoin has sparked deliberations in Russian legal circles. Some say a crypto is nothing more than “a set of sorts.” Others, including the justice minister, are categorical – cryptocurrency can’t be anything else but acreage.
Also read: Cryptocurrencies to be Called “Digital Money” in Russia, Tokens – “Digital Liberties”
Russian Justice Ministry Takes Side in a Legal Argument
Cryptocurrency failures under the legal category of “other property,” Russia’s Justice Ambassador Alexander Konovalov told reporters this week. With two compose laws on the matter still pending in the State Duma, he also respected that digital coins should not be considered electronic money, at least on this make up.
A bankruptcy case involving some bitcoin holdings has recently stirred the Russian statutory community, which was challenged to provide a provisional answer to the question nearby the status of cryptocurrencies. In the absence of firm definitions in the current legislation, this without question split Russian legal experts in two camps. On one side are those who about that cryptocurrencies have real value, on the other – their allies who believe they don’t, if the law doesn’t explicitly say so.
According to Konovalov, his department has espoused a “consolidated opinion” on the legal nature of cryptocurrencies and it supports the view that they should be laid as property. “If digital money is not property, its theft would not be considered iniquitous offense because there would be no object of the crime,” he warned.
“If cryptocurrencies are to expatiate on, additional regulation will be necessary. The main point is to ensure that all this does not expand into financial pyramids,” Konovalov added, quoted by Prime. He is convinced that Russia should present rigid crypto regulations but also recognizes that the phenomenon is itself a “sign of the people’s desire to escape from total dependence.”
The Question Thinks fitting Be Answered by the Duma Soon
Minister Konovalov’s comments added to the ceaseless debate among experts and officials in Moscow on whether cryptocurrency can be cogitate oned a property in accordance with the current Russian legislation. The discussions were prompted by a bankruptcy alphabetizing from October last year. During the arbitrage proceedings, the debtor protested the trustee’s entreat to include his crypto funds, less than 0.2 bitcoin (BTC), in his bankruptcy place.
According to his legal representative, such move is impossible as the term “cryptocurrency” is not referenced in Russia’s Civil Code at all. The Moscow Arbitration Court accepted this placing. “A conclusion can be drawn that cryptocurrency is a certain set of symbols/characters suppressed in an information system. It cannot be an object of the civil rights,” it said.
But then, earlier in May, an arbitration court of interests overturned this ruling recognizing cryptocurrency as a valuable property, as dope.Bitcoin.com reported. On Thursday, the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeals proclaimed its decision on the case. According to the document quoted by Interfax, cryptocurrency cannot be regarded as anything else but estate. And, since the current civil law does not contain the notion “other quality”, the widest possible interpretation of property is permissible, the court explained.
The dubiousness about the status of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation will be answered bleeding soon. Two drafts have been filed in the Duma, the lower congress of Russia’s parliament, and the one that focuses on legalizing initial coin donations will have its first reading on Tuesday, May 22. The second restaurant check is expected to amend the country’s Civil Code in order to regulate crypto payments. According to remarks made by the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev this week, the new legislation drive refer to cryptos and tokens as “digital money” and “digital rights”, separately. Whether this means that bitcoin will be accepted both as currency and real estate remains to be seen.
Do you expect Russia to eventually accept and legalize decentralized cryptocurrencies? Part your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
Images courtliness of Shutterstock.
Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our machines section.