According to a business leader, a new Russian law "will dampen public interest in cryptocurrency."

 

According to a business leader, a soon-to-be-released Russian draft crypto regulation bill – which proposes putting crypto under a stringent regulatory framework – is effectively a tactic to deter Russians from utilizing cryptoassets.

According to Lenta, Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), argued that the bill was a "instrument" that would assist "decrease Russians' interest in cryptocurrency."

He went on to say that regulating cryptocurrency, together with the Central Bank's intentions to launch a digital ruble, would "eliminate a number of concerns and hazards linked with cryptocurrencies."

While the bill would move crypto out of the legal limbo it currently occupies in Russia (tokens are not illegal, but they lack legal status), it would make access to coins much more difficult: Russians would be required to declare their crypto holdings, use only licensed and regulated exchanges linked to domestic bank accounts, and declare all transactions worth more than a certain amount in fiat equivalents.

They would also be barred from trading on foreign exchanges.

Anatoly Aksakov, the Chairman of the State Duma's Committee on Financial Markets, has said that the law, which is due to be unveiled late next week, will pass before the end of the first half of this year.

If legislators and regulators responsible with developing a national crypto policy find an agreement, the bill will likely move unchallenged through the Duma, where it will require two readings before being published in the official gazette and promulgated.

According to Tass, Aksakov stated that the paper was complete but needed some tweaking before it could be made public. He stated that a "pretty consolidated paper" would be ready "in the near future," but that the law would most likely pass in the coming month.

The finance ministry has suggested that officials allow for a grace period before taxing cryptocurrency, stating that the appropriate infrastructure should be in place first, and that crypto dealers will need time to adjust and prepare for tax measures.