Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights presents cryptocurrency regulation proposals

Maria Nikolova

Under the proposals, cryptocurrencies should be defined and regulated as blockchain products.

Russia is slowly moving towards developing its regulation for cryptocurrencies and related tech. On Friday, Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights Boris Titov presented a set of cryptocurrency regulation proposals drafted by experts from the P.A. Stolypin institute.

Mr Titov, quoted by Russian information agency TASS, explained that, under the proposals, cryptocurrencies are defined as payment means having monetary value, which are not nominated in any official government currency. Such payment means are created and transmitted via blockchain and are used for transactions by an unlimited number of parties. E-money is not considered cryptocurrencies. Neither are tokens issued within initial coin offerings (ICOs).

The first steps in the regulation involve the definition of cryptotokens and blockchain technology. This should be followed by determination of the cryptocurrencies that may be exchanged in Russia, as well as defining the rules for the exchange of such cryptocurrencies for Russian rubles and other currencies. The remaining issues should be solved thanks to a regulatory sandbox.

The authors of the proposals note that the focus should be on the protection of investors rather than the pursuit of some fiscal interest and the imposition of taxes.

Mr Titov suggests that the first cryptocurrencies to be allowed to be exchanged in Russia should be the ones with an operator or a “center of emission” based on blockchain. “We propose to regulate cryptocurrencies as products of blockchain”, he said. Given that Bitcoin is decentralized, it will not be a part of this first group of cryptocurrencies.

The question about allowing certain cryptocurrencies to be exchanged for Russian rubles may be answered only by Russia’s central bank, the authors of the proposals note. According to them, the banks and payment services providers should be authorized to provide cryptocurrency exchange services. Later, certified cryptocurrency exchanges may join in.

The proposals have been sent to the Russian Finance Ministry, the Duma and the Central Bank.

The presentation of the cryptocurrency regulation proposals happens less than a fortnight after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin issued orders to the Central Bank of Russia and the Russian government, giving them until July 1, 2018, to change Russian legislation so that it determines the status of DLT, cryptocurrencies, smart-contracts and tokens.

The Bank of Russia has recently reiterated its warning concerning ICOs and cryptocurrencies. The regulator, however, is welcoming novel fintech solutions and blockchain.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

Digital Assets

Sui Spikes in Weekly DEX Volume, Joins Top 10 of All Blockchains

March DEX volume on Sui stands at over $2.88B – up more than 49% from February – with decentralized exchange Cetus and wholesale liquidity layer DeepBook leading.

Digital Assets

Prisma Finance suffers $10 million crypto exploit, attack ongoing

Liquid staking protocol Prisma Finance fell victim to a security exploit on March 28, resulting in nearly $10 million in Prisma mkUSD and wrapped stETH being stolen by hackers.

<