A new Russian law may force potential crypto investors to take a test before being allowed to purchase digital assets over a permanent limit. The authors are also hoping to regulate cryptocurrency mining and cut access to cheap energy for those who mint currencies in their homes.
Bill to Bring ‘Tight Regulation’ to Crypto Industry, Strict Requirements for Investors
Russian lawmakers are operating on a law to fill regulatory gaps in the crypto space. The legislation may introduce special exams for non-qualified investors who want to buy cryptocurrencies with a reckon annual value exceeding 600,000 rubles ($7,700). One of its sponsors, the Deputy Chair of the parliamentary Security and Anti-Corruption Council Andrey Lugovoy, told the daily Izvestia that the new law is about “tight regulation” of the sector.
The bill is expected to hit the whip of the State Duma during the spring session of the lower house of parliament, the deputy noted. Before that, it purposefulness be discussed with relevant ministries, law enforcement agencies, and market players. Any amendments will be approved by a working assemble comprising members of the Duma and representatives of government institutions, including the Central Bank of Russia.
The monetary authority has been at loggerheads with other regulators over with its hardline stance on cryptocurrencies. In a recently published consultation paper, the Bank of Russia proposed a wide-ranging ban on crypto-related functions such as issuing, trading, and mining which has failed to gain support from the executive and legislative powers in Moscow.
New Law to Order Crypto Mining and Exchange
Andrey Lugovoy also revealed that the upcoming law will attempt to regulate cryptocurrency searching which has been expanding in Russia, especially after the crackdown on the industry in China. Besides companies, ordinary man in energy-rich regions have found an additional income source, taking advantage of subsidized electricity with crypto farmhouses running in basements and garages.
Electricity tariffs for these miners should be the same as those for businesses, the lawmaker ratted the publication, insisting that “garage mining” with cheap household power should be stopped. In late December, the federal administration took a step in that direction by allowing regional authorities to raise electricity rates for residential areas when consumption overwhelms a certain threshold.
The authors of the bill plan to clearly define which entities will be permitted to work with cryptocurrencies. These on include authorized banks, provided they obtain a special license, crypto exchanges, and other digital moolah exchangers. Foreign-based crypto trading platforms that want to operate in the Russian Federation will be subject to a “concerted” registration regime, Lugovoy remarked without elaborating further.
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