Deputies of the State Duma presented a bill prohibiting the organization of cryptocurrency circulation as early as September 1, 2024, Interfax drew attention to the document.
Subscribe to RB.RU on Telegram
The parliamentarians are not proposing a total ban, but rather serious restrictions. The exceptions are expected to affect the activities of digital currency miners, as well as the Bank of Russia’s test projects.
In addition to organizing circulation, the ban will affect the advertising of digital currencies and cryptocurrency exchanges. As follows from the document, “the organization of the circulation of digital currency on the territory of the Russian Federation is prohibited, and advertising or offering in any other form to an unlimited number of people digital currencies, as well as goods (works, services) in order to organize the issuance, issuance, organization of circulation, circulation of digital currency.”
The updated version was published in the State Duma database on April 26.
To date, there is no formal ban on the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia. The document establishes the parameters according to which activities will be classified as organizing the circulation of said currency.
In particular, it concerns the provision of services for transactions or operations that involve the transfer of digital currency from one owner to another. In this case, one of the parties must be a Russian natural or legal person.
The provision of services for transactions involving the transition of digital currency using the infrastructure of the Russian Federation for this purpose will also be included in the turnover.
State Duma deputy Anton Gorelkin complained about the incorrect interpretation of the document by some media outlets. He stated that there is no talk of a total ban on the circulation of cryptocurrencies. According to Gorelkin, the ban will only affect the creation of exchanges outside the experimental legal regime.
At the same time, the deputy points out, “no one prohibits, as before, the use of foreign exchange houses and cryptocurrency exchangers.”
“Of course, the circulation of cryptocurrencies will not be prohibited. The organization of circulation, that is, the creation of exchanges and exchanges outside the area of operation of the experimental legal regime, is prohibited. This is a condition that several actors insist on, pointing out that the question of the emergence of a legal Russian crypto infrastructure today is based on geopolitical realities. Giving the green light to a company in this direction means subjecting it to Western sanctions,” Gorelkin wrote on his Telegram channel, adding that the ban in this case is a protective measure.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
