After the Central Bank of Russia’s call to ban cryptocurrencies, the Ministry of Finance stated that it would be more correct to regulate them and started working on a draft.
Although the crypto money bill prepared by the Ministry of Finance is against bans, it contains very restrictive provisions.
According to the draft, Russians will only be able to trade cryptocurrencies through government-licensed platforms, and these cryptocurrencies will be stored in certified wallets. If this draft is passed, peer-to-peer commerce would have been de facto banned.
The draft has not been shared by official institutions yet. A lawyer who reviewed the draft told Coindesk what was included in the draft.
Accordingly, in the draft, digital currencies are defined as electronic data stored in an information system that can be used as a means of payment even though it is not a legal currency in Russia, and as an investment tool that is not supported by any asset.
Some other regulations are as follows;
“Digital asset platforms will have certain obligations to prevent terrorist financing and money laundering.
Offshore companies will not be able to act as intermediaries in cryptocurrency trading.
Cryptocurrency exchanges must have assets of at least 100 million rubles ($1.2 million) to receive trade approval, while professional traders will have at least 50 million rubles.
Only accounts in Russian banks will be used for trading on licensed platforms.
Platforms must keep a special record of funds coming from miner addresses.
Miners have to report their income to tax authorities.”
While the proposal of the Russian Ministry of Finance contains very strict regulations, it contains regulations contrary to the spirit of cryptocurrencies.
As it is understood from the bill, a crypto money bought from the stock market cannot be stored in any private wallet. This means that a closed-circuit system will be adopted.
There were also some concerns about the future of the closed circuit system in Turkey. However, the authorized institutions still have not announced the expected bill.