12/29/2017 Russian Cryptocurrency Bill Is Ready – Regulators Share Details - Bitcoin News

REGULATION

1 hour ago | Kevin Helms (https://news.bitcoin.com/author/kevin-helms/) | |

Russian Cryptocurrency Bill Is Ready – Regulators Share Details

(https://news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/russian-bill-banner-ns1.png)

The bill for the regulation of cryptocurrencies and initial coin o erings (ICOs) in Russia
is ready. It was jointly developed by the country’s central bank and nance ministry.
The regulators have shared some details of the bill including how mining activities are
https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-cryptocurrency-bill-ready/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Noti… 1/5
12/29/2017 Russian Cryptocurrency Bill Is Ready – Regulators Share Details - Bitcoin News

to be taxed.

Also read: Russian Regulators Draft Law to Restrict Crypto Mining, Payments, and Token
Sales (https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-regulators-law-crypto-mining-payments-token-
sales/)

Russian Crypto Bill Presented

The Russian Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia jointly presented the bill for the
regulation of cryptocurrencies and ICOs at the nance ministry’s meeting of the public
council on Thursday. The bill is expected to be adopted in March, according to the
chairman of the State Duma Financial Markets Committee, Anatoly Aksakov. President
Vladimir Putin has mandated (https://news.bitcoin.com/putin-mandates-
cryptocurrency-ico-regulation-july/) the regulatory framework for both
cryptocurrencies and ICOs be nalized by July 1 of next year.

The central bank’s rst deputy chairman, Olga

Skorobogatova, said at the meeting that the bank “does
not consider and will not consider cryptocurrencies as
settlement or payment means,” Tass reported.

The nance ministry has proposed de ning

cryptocurrencies as “other property.” Deputy Finance
Minister Alexei Moiseev explained that, based on this Olga Skorobogatova.

de nition, “you can buy a cryptocurrency and exchange it

for other property,” including ICO tokens.

No Support for Cryptoruble

On the subject of Russia’s national cryptocurrency, the cryptoruble, “both the nance
ministry and the central bank equally negatively assess the prospects for the creation
and release of the national cryptocurrency,” the publication described.

Moiseev said that the nance ministry does not see the need for the cryptoruble.

https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-cryptocurrency-bill-ready/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Noti… 2/5
12/29/2017 Russian Cryptocurrency Bill Is Ready – Regulators Share Details - Bitcoin News

Skorobogatova concurred, stating that the central bank

“does not think this is advisable from the point of view of
the macroeconomics of the population.” On the other
hand, she revealed that “The Bank of Russia is considering
the possibility of introducing a supranational digital
currency within the BRICS
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRICS) or the Eurasian
Economic Union (EAEC
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Economic_Comm
unity)).”

The central bank’s deputy believes that “the issue of a common cryptocurrency for a
number of countries is very promising, more than that for a single nation,” RT reported
and quoted her saying:

The participants of di erent economic events where I usually

take part… all come to the conclusion the issue of a virtual
currency is not needed much by one country…it makes sense
to discuss the cryptocurrency on the level of several countries
such as BRICS and EAEC. It makes sense to set one equivalent
for all payments.

Regulating ICOs

As news.Bitcoin.com (http://news.Bitcoin.com) reported

(https://news.bitcoin.com/russia-proposed-regulation-
limits-icos-investors/) earlier this week, the bill allows for
ICOs but establishes restrictions on them. Those who are
not quali ed investors “will be able to purchase tokens of a

https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-cryptocurrency-bill-ready/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Noti… 3/5
12/29/2017 Russian Cryptocurrency Bill Is Ready – Regulators Share Details - Bitcoin News

certain type for an amount not exceeding 50 thousand rubles (~USD$869),” Tass
reiterated. The ministry also suggested limiting “the maximum amount of funds raised by
an ICO [to] 1 billion rubles (~$17.4 million).”

Regarding the ICO limits, the president of the Russian Association of Cryptocurrency and
Blockchain (RABIC), Yuri Pripachkin, argued that ICO fundraising should not be limited as
they can “attract an unlimited amount of foreign investments to Russian projects.”

Mining Taxation
The bill presented on Thursday also contains the de nition of mining and how it will be
taxed, according to the news outlet. Moiseev told reporters that individual entrepreneurs
and legal entities could engage in mining activities, adding that:

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation expects to

levy a mining tax by analogy with the taxation of business
activities.

He elaborated that the current tax legislation will apply and the Federal Tax Service will
decide if there is a volume threshold for the taxation of mining.

What do you think of this Russian bill? Do you think it will be good for the crypto
community? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Banker.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools

(http://tools.bitcoin.com/) section.

https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-cryptocurrency-bill-ready/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Noti… 4/5
12/29/2017 Russian Cryptocurrency Bill Is Ready – Regulators Share Details - Bitcoin News

(https://news.bitcoin.com/author/kevin-helms/)
Kevin Helms (https://news.bitcoin.com/author/kevin-helms/)
A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in bitcoin
security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

 (https://plus.google.com/109223545760667792365)  (https://twitter.com/kevinhelms01)

BTC/USD BCH/USD
(https://www.bitcoin.com/)
Wallet (https://wallet.bitcoin.com/) BTC Miami
$14661 $2751 menu
(https://price
(https://price
bitcoin com/)
bitcoin com/)

https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-cryptocurrency-bill-ready/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Noti… 5/5