The Duma wants to regulate Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining in the country. The laws would notably make it possible to replenish the state coffers from the colossal incomes of minors, and would give the authorities the necessary mechanism to crack down on illegal activities in the sector.
Regulating cryptocurrency mining in Russia: $ 2 billion in revenue to tax
According to a press release dated November 11, 2021, the President of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, asked his deputy Andrei Lugovoy, to create a working group on cryptocurrencies, which will notably look into the development of ‘a mining regulation .
According to a Thursday press release from #Russia's State Duma, the country's lower house of parliament, the #Russian government may be considering legalizing #cryptocurrency mining. – Bitcoinleef https://t.co/BfUaEmOQ5u
— Bitcoinleef (@Bitcoinleef) November 12, 2021
Lugovoy, who will be at the head of the group, had recently indicated that this regulation on cryptocurrency mining has become inevitable . Miners earn, according to him, an annual income of $ 2 billion without paying taxes . Lugovoy also spoke of the powerlessness of the authorities in the face of a legal vacuum regarding the supervision of the sector :
“Due to the lack of regulations on the production of cryptocurrencies, law enforcement agencies generally fall into a stalemate as they cannot establish the signs of a crime in individual activities and make the necessary procedural decisions. “
Lugavoy said he had already prepared a bill dealing with these issues , but was not yet sure when he was going to submit it to the Duma.
Cryptocurrency mining in Russia: the intransigent central bank, no to all ruble competition
Lugovoy is not the first Russian politician to call for regulation of cryptocurrency mining in the country. The chairman of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, also issued a recommendation to this effect to the Duma in September 2021, calling for cryptocurrency mining to be framed by laws governing entrepreneurial activities . (Electricity consumption of miners in Kazakhstan: an issue for government)
The Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Energy have recently shown their support for Aksakov’s initiative. The Bank of Russia, for its part, is sticking to its anti-crypto stance, refusing to support any project that would create “monetary substitutes” for the ruble . Russia has a digital asset law that came into effect in January 2021. The text prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies in the country to pay for goods and services .
Russia is far from being a crypto-friendly country. The country does not want to follow China’s lead in cracking down on cryptocurrencies, however. Russian citizens can own and use them outside the country.
