Russian Companies ‘Actively’ Using Crypto, Russia to Adopt 4 Relevant Laws, Official Says

Russian lawmakers intend to soon approve four bills designed to regulate various aspects of cryptocurrencies, a high-ranking member of the Russian parliament announced. Meanwhile, Russian companies are already using digital assets in cross-border settlements, the official noted.

The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, plans to adopt four crypto-related laws during its spring session which ends on July 30, according to Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the parliamentary Financial Market Committee.

The bills are tailored to regulate cryptocurrency mining, cross-border crypto payments, taxation of digital assets, and liability for their illegal use, the lawmaker detailed, quoted by the Interfax news agency. He emphasized that the draft laws are well thought through.

Aksakov remarked that large Russian companies are already actively using cryptocurrency in foreign trade settlements, but they want to see legislation outlining the legal framework for such transactions. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, he stated:

Now we have come to the point where four bills are in the stage of practical adoption … It is quite possible that we will adopt all the laws in the spring session.

Anatoly Aksakov also said that the authorities want to take into account the opinions of market participants regarding tax rules. “Most likely, the norms applicable to DFAs will be taken into account as much as possible here, since this is a similar instrument,” he elaborated.

The law “On Digital Financial Assets” (DFAs), which went into force in January 2021, covers only some crypto-related activities, in particular those that involve digital assets with an issuing entity, like tokenized traditional assets or utility tokens, for example.

At the same time, transactions with decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are yet to be comprehensively regulated in Russia. Pressed by Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have stepped up their efforts in this direction.

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