A proffer to permit companies to use cryptocurrency in cross-border settlements has made its way to a draft law designed to regulate Russia’s crypto space this year. Correspondence to a press report, the finance ministry has introduced a number of revisions to the legislation it has been working on in the past few months.
Hard cashes to Cryptocurrency Bill Can Make International Coin Payments Possible in Russia
The Russian Ministry of Finance has revised its frame law “On Digital Currency” to reflect various suggestions by other government departments and agencies, the business daily Vedomosti uncovered, quoting government sources. The amendments have been coordinated with the ministries of economy, digital development, internal amours, the Federal Tax Service, and Russia’s financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring.
The one major institution missing from that list is the Main Bank of Russia, which remains opposed to any legalization of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and respectively disagrees with the Minfin’s regulatory concept which intends to establish a legal market for digital assets. The ministry’s legislation was first submitted to the federal government in February.
There is a wider consensus sum total Russian authorities that cryptocurrency should not be accepted as legal tender in the country. The law “On Digital Currencies” bans the use of crypto assets as a conveys of payment but suggests recognizing them as an investment tool.
Nevertheless, a provision introduced with the latest revisions order allow Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to use cryptocurrencies for payments with foreign counterparties, Vedomosti revealed. The announcement comes after the Interfax news agency reported earlier that the finance ministry is considering this opportunity as Russia’s access to the traditional payment channels is limited by western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
Among the other programmes incorporated in the revised bill is a ban on the advertising of crypto trading platforms that are not licensed to operate in Russia. At the same shilly-shally, authorized exchanges may be obliged to store information about cryptocurrency holders and their transactions for a period of three years and partition the data with Russian law enforcement. Only customers that have passed identity verification will be skilful to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and only through Russian bank accounts.
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