Russian politicians say they will discuss a long-awaited cryptocurrency regulation bill by the end of the current parliamentary session.
The move suggests that some parts of the crypto sector may finally be moving out of the regulatory gray zone.
News.ru media reported that the State Duma (the Russian parliament) is going to pass the first reading of the “draft law on the legalization of cryptocurrencies” in the (current) spring session.
The current session ends at the end of July.
Anatoliy Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, stated this.
“I think that in the spring session we will adopt the law, for sure at least in the first reading. It will focus on legalizing the use of cryptocurrencies for [foreign] payments and [foreign] financial transactions. We agreed with the Central Bank and the government that this should be done.”
The country’s central bank wants to ban all forms of activity related to cryptocurrency.
However, he noted that he may be ready to allow Russian companies to conduct international cryptocurrency trading.
This will allow trading companies to avoid Western sanctions imposed on Russian companies after the start of the war with Ukraine last year.
But this will only encourage traders to exchange their coins for fiat on trading platforms.
Will Russia’s cryptocurrency law create a “state-owned crypto exchange”?
Some politicians argue that Moscow should create a state-owned crypto exchange to help importers and exporters.
Aksakov expressed the opinion that the “legalization” of the use of cryptocurrency in trade agreements “will allow the country to pay for imported goods and carry out other operations” with the help of tokens.
Aksakov added:
“I think it is better to legalize such an infrastructure [by launching a public crypto exchange]. But the Central Bank has a different opinion on this matter. The position of the Ministry of Finance is much closer to me. This is a matter for discussion.”
Cryptotrading and mining are currently neither legal nor illegal in Russia.
Instead, they have no legal status and are not subject to taxation.
Last week, the Central Bank revealed that Russian households now spend more on cryptocurrency than on gold and other precious metals.
