Putin Approves Cryptocurrency Bill, Stopping Russians From Using Bitcoin for Payments

On Friday, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, signed one of the two digital assets bills into law, Russian media outlet RIA reports.

The new law was passed by Russia’s parliament, Duma, last week and states that firms can provide virtual securities on blockchain platforms provided they are well registered with the country’s central bank, Bank of Russia, as issuers as well as meet various provisions.

The new law also states that decentralized cryptos are taken to be a form of property that should be declared by the holders for taxation purposes.

The bill notes that as a property, cryptocurrency cannot be used to pay for goods and services in the country. However, businesses accepting crypto payments have until January next year to adjust to the new development.

According to RIA, the bill seems like a mild version of what was essentially proposed. Russian parliamentarians had developed a new proposal of the bill which would render any entity providing or trading cryptocurrency illegal in the country.

The first draft of the bill highly represented the skeptical stance that has been advanced by the country’s central bank. It led to widespread condemnation from the crypto community as well as from the country’s Ministries of Economic Development and Justice.

The law also states that Russian residents will now have a chance to challenge any transaction involving the digital currencies in a court of law provided the plaintiff has proof of transaction and is a crypto holder.

The Russian parliament is currently working on a more comprehensive digital bill that will touch on various issues regarding digital currencies. The bill is expected to be discussed and passed before the end of the year. However, no specific details on dates have been disclosed to the public.

Source: bitcoinexchangeguide.com