- Russian President Vladimir Putin has given a July 1 deadline for the adoption of crypto laws
- This comes after a previous bill was adjusted to remove the definition of crypto mining
- The legal status of crypto is currently unclear in the country
While Russia has been increasingly friendly towards crypto and some word has been given about their upcoming regulations by government officials, it seems Russian President Vladimir Putin wants faster results.
It has been reported that Putin has given a deadline to the government for the official adoption of regulation regarding cryptocurrency. According to an official document submitted to the Federal Assembly, the government has a deadline of July 1, 2019, to move forward with the new regulations.
Additionally, the Council of the Federation of Russia and the lower house the Federal Assembly of Russia (Russian State Duma) must make these adoptions during their spring sessions.
This seems to be a progression from Putin’s previous statements in which he expressed caution about the use of cryptocurrency.
When asked about his thoughts on crypto as a form of payment he said:
“The relationship of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to cryptocurrency [is that] it considers cryptocurrency neither a means of payment nor a store of value. Cryptocurrency is not backed by anything. One should treat it cautiously, carefully.”
Shedding More Light
The laws that are to be adopted are those that seek the progress of the digital assets industry such as the regulation of civil-law digital settlements.
The laws are also required to work towards attracting greater assets based on digital technology.
Russia, like many other countries, has actively begun using blockchain but has had a sometimes tricky relationship with cryptocurrency.
Alexander Konovalov, the Minister of Justice of Russia, has previously pointed out that there was no need to create a framework for cryptocurrency because, technically, cryptocurrency isn’t recognized as a form of currency under Russian law. According to him, article 75 of the country’s constitution expressly bans the use of Cryptocurrency for payment but that it could be classified as a form of asset.
In May 2018, the Russian parliament approved a bill “On Digital Financial Assets” in its first reading which dealt with smart contracts, ICOs, and mining. However, in October 2018, the law was revised and the definition of mining was removed.
“Earlier we had some thoughts on Bitcoins, on their integration into our economic system. But as we decided we don’t need them, these ambiguous Bitcoins, therefore we don’t need mining as well,” said Anatoly Aksakov, the Chairman of the committee.
