Russia considers introducing fines for crypto mining via open blockchain

Russian lawmakers are considering introducing administrative penalties for those who mine cryptocurrencies via open blockchains, Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, told news agency TASS.

Mr Aksakov noted that operations involving cryptos that are not covered by the Russian laws would be considered illegitimate. This means that mining of such instruments would be banned. Violating the prohibition would result in administrative penalties – fines.

Mr Aksakov added that owning cryptos is permitted if the latter were acquired under foreign laws in foreign exchanges, outside of Russia.

The Russian law on digital financial assets has stalled as a result of FATF requirements regarding the regulation of existing cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. Nevertheless, Aksakov said that the law is set to pass in June.

Let’s recall that, according to a survey conducted earlier this year, the majority of Russians believe investing in bitcoin is not profitable. The poll, conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), shows morethan half of the respondents (56%) claim have certain knowledge about Bitcoin but meager 9% of those surveyed say they have detailed knowledge of Bitcoin. Further 18% say they have heard the term “Bitcoin”.

The actual knowledge about Bitcoin is relatively poor. For example, among those who have heard of Bitcoin, 37% are confident that anyone can get Bitcoins, whereas 12% believe Bitcoins are banned in Russia. Another controversial finding is that 28% of the respondents believe it is harder to steal digital currencies when compared to typical currencies, whereas 29% insist that it is easier to steal digital currencies than “normal” currencies.